OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE
Stuttgart/Hamburg, Germany, Jun 26, 2008 – For a two-day period, the PANGAEA – the largest expeditionary sailing ship ever built – was presented in Hamburg’s Oevelgönne Harbour Museum. Scores of locals took the opportunity to view the extraordinary two-master on its only stop in Germany, and to learn about the PANGAEA expedition from Mike Horn. The adventurer will spend four years circumnavigating the earth while working with youth to put various ecological and social projects into action – from the North Pole to the South Pole, and from the Amazon to the Gobi desert. The expedition will begin in October and Mercedes-Benz will be its exclusive partner and main sponsor. In keeping with the expedition’s motto “explore – learn – act,” Horn and Mercedes-Benz aim to motivate youth to make an active contribution toward protecting the environment and conserving the world’s natural resources.
“The PANGAEA expedition’s philosophy and objective are in perfect harmony with our approach to sustainability at Mercedes-Benz. This is why we’re supporting this unique sustainability project,” explains Dr. Olaf Göttgens, Vice President Brand Communications Mercedes-Benz Cars. “It’s about actively campaigning to protect the environment and to fight global warming, while at the same time sensitizing young people in particular about conserving natural resources. After all, they’ll be shaping the world of tomorrow.” With its TrueBlueSolutions, Mercedes-Benz is pursuing an integrated sustainability strategy, and has developed groundbreaking technologies toward emissions-free automotive propulsion.
The Greek word PANGAEA means “entire earth” and is the name given to the last global supercontinent that existed 250 million years ago. Accordingly, the PANGAEA sailing ship will visit project stations on all five continents, including the North and South Poles. Mike Horn will join various multinational teams of altogether 144 youths at each of the stations as they initiate and implement projects to protect the environment and to improve the living circumstances of local people. “Through their project work, the youngsters should learn how human activity impacts the environment and nature, and actively contribute to protect the planet for generations to come,” says Horn. The projects will be selected and guided by various pedagogical partners of the PANGAEA expedition, universities and international organisations. Mercedes-Benz will support project teams at different land stations with suitable vehicles, know-how and contacts.
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