On 29 October 2007, Guy Laliberté, the founder of Cirque du Soleil, officially launched the ONE DROP Foundation that aims to give everyone access to clean water. Laliberté will provide US$ 100 million (EUR 69 million) over 25 years to cover the operating costs. Field activities will be financed by donations from the employees of Cirque du Soleil, the public, and Canadian and international partners. RBC Financial Group has pledged US$ 10 million (EUR 6.9 million) from its Blue Water Project™ over ten years to support ONE DROP projects both in Canada and abroad. The Prince Albert II de Monaco Foundation is the first international organisation to sign a collaboration agreement with ONE DROP.

The ONE DROP Foundation makes use of the circus arts, folklore, popular theatre, music, dance and the visual arts to promote education, community involvement and public awareness of water issues. In developing countries, the Foundation will focus its operations in three regions: Central America, Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, where it will improve access to water, ensure food security and promote gender equality in communities. Oxfam-Québec has worked with ONE DROP since 2005 in a three-year pilot project in Nicaragua. The Foundation will unveil its programme for developed countries in 2008.

Web sites: ONE DROP ; RBC Blue Water Project ; Fondation Prince Albert II de Monaco

Source: ONE DROP, 29 Oct 2007

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