HCA NEWS HCA2005 launches partnership with SAS

The Hans Christian Andersen 2005 Foundation and the HCA-abc Foundation has forged close ties with the Scandinavian flag carrier, SAS, and Rezidor SAS Hospitality. The partnership was publicised today at a press conference in Copenhagen and provides reduced-rate air travel worldwide for all artistic partners of the Hans Christian Andersen 2005 Foundation.

By ms - H.C. Andersen 2005 - 09 June 2004

As from today, SAS is the official carrier and Rezidor SAS Hospitality is the official hospitality provider for the Hans Christian Andersen 2005 bicentenary. Furthermore, SAS and Rezidor SAS will support the charitable HCA-abc Foundation in addressing illiteracy worldwide.

The official partnership was signed at a press conference in Copenhagen today by all three parties, represented by CEO of the SAS Group, Jørgen Lindegaard, Secretary General of the Hans Christian Andersen 2005 Foundation, Lars Seeberg, and Chairman of the Board of the HCA-abc Foundation, Elvar Vinum.

The Hans Christian Andersen 2005 Foundation, which sponsors the official 2005 Hans Christian Andersen bicentenary, and the newly established humanitarian HCA-abc Foundation, which addresses illiteracy worldwide, have launched a partnership with the Scandinavian flag carrier SAS and Rezidor SAS Hospitality as the official carrier and official hospitality provider for the Hans Christian Andersen 2005 bicentenary. Additionally, SAS and Rezidor SAS will sponsor the HCA-abc Foundation literacy programmes aimed at children and the young worldwide.

To travel is to live
"To Travel is to live." This is how aptly Hans Christian Andersen captured the essence of travel while venturing through Germany at the age of 26. As with many of Andersen's notions, it expresses a universal truism. It is, therefore, quite in keeping with the spirit of Andersen that travel is to become so central to the Andersen bicentenary. The partnership forged between the Hans Christian Andersen 2005 Foundation and SAS and Rezidor SAS ensures convenient and speedy travel at reduced rates for the thousands of participants in the bicentenary events. In addition, Rezidor SAS will provide hotel accommodation at reduced rates in most major cities worldwide. The offer also extends to employees of the Hans Christian Andersen 2005 Foundation and the HCA-abc Foundation.

In connection with the opening of the bicentenary of the birth of the Danish poet and storyteller, all Hans Christian Andersen Ambassadors will be invited to Denmark to take part in the many bicentenary events in Odense and Copenhagen between 1 and 3 April 2005. SAS will handle the huge task of transporting the many Hans Christian Andersen Ambassadors from around the world to Andersen's native country, and Rezidor SAS will provide accommodation for the many prominent guests.

Promotion
The partnership with SAS and Rezidor SAS will besides air travel and hospitality also include promotional initiatives to highlight the international 2005 Hans Christian Andersen bicentenary, such as featuring the bicentenary in in-flight magazines and videos and hosting exhibitions and other marketing initiatives at Rezidor SAS hotels worldwide.

SAS has entered a partnership with the Hans Christian Andersen 2005 Foundation where SAS is to provide convenient and comfortable air travel and accommodation in their hotels to the benefit of the artists and the Hans Christian Andersen Ambassadors. Equally, the partnership is of financial benefit to the Hans Christian Andersen 2005 Foundation, allowing the foundation to cut travel costs. Yet the partnership is also an advantage to SAS since it generates new opportunities while being a profitable enterprise in itself. And it is not least a great pleasure for SAS to sponsor the programmes undertaken by the HCA-abc Foundation worldwide in teaching children to read and write," Jørgen Lindegaard, CEO of the SAS Group, said at the press conference.

The same enthusiasm was exhibited by Lars Seeberg, Secretary General of the Hans Christian Andersen 2005 Foundation, when he expressed his gratitude to SAS for not only offering reduced airfares for the bicentenary artists but also for their commitment to create awareness of the Andersen bicentenary among their passengers.

"As anyone can imagine, sending American theatre performances on world tours is quite expensive, but as a result of the partnership with SAS, the Andersen bicentenary has been given a flying start," Lars Seeberg said at the press conference.

He added, that had Andersen travelled today, he would no doubt have travelled the world by air - and always booked a window seat. However, that is only if the otherwise infamously neurotic Andersen were to overcome any fear of flying.

One billion illiterates
The partnership deal with SAS and Rezidor SAS also extends to the humanitarian foundation, the HCA-abc Foundation, which was established by the Bikuben Foundation in April of this year. The HCA-abc Foundation seeks to address illiteracy among children and the young in the name of Hans Christian Andersen. According to UNESCO's Institute of Statistics there are approximately one billion illiterates in the world of which 15 percent are children.

Reading and writing is the key to a better life - and to seeking inspiration in the life and work of Hans Christian Andersen. The agreement between the Hans Christian Andersen 2005 Foundation and the HCA-abc Foundation ensures that all companies wanting to feature the official Hans Christian Andersen 2005 logo on commercial products must contribute to the humanitarian work undertaken by the HCA-abc Foundation.

The Rezidor SAS hotels are proud to become active partners in such a great and important cultural event and to sponsor the many celebrations and events as well as the charitable undertaking of the HCA-abc Foundation on a local as well as international level," says Roy A. Kappenberger, Regional Director of Rezidor SAS Hospitality in Denmark and Iceland.

SAS and Rezidor SAS will launch initiatives that reward the HCA-abc Foundation objectives, such as raising funds to support literacy programmes throughout the world, especially among children and the young in the Third World, and by committing themselves to promotional activities that highlight the humanitarian initiatives undertaken by the foundation.

"Hans Christian Andersen is not to be the label of a year of worldwide bicentennial celebration only to fade into oblivion. Hans Christian Andersen is to live on in people's minds as a writer, a person, a man of the world, a storyteller and an adventurer whose stories still inspire and remind us just how important it is to know how to read and write. We are very pleased that SAS and Rezidor SAS have decided to support the initiatives undertaken by the HCA-abc Foundation in helping children and youngsters in developing countries to learn how to read and write," says Elvar Vinum, Chairman of the Board of the HCA-abc Foundation.


The photo shows CEO of the SAS Group, Jørgen Lindegaard.
Photo: Jakob Boserup

Facts about the HCA-abc Foundation
The HCA-abc Foundation was established in April 2004 by the Bikuben Foundation. The aim of the HCA-abc Foundation is to support already established as well as new initiatives and projects that help children and young people in developing countries to learn how to read and write. A partnership has been forged with the Hans Christian Andersen 2005 Foundation, which ensures that all private companies who seek to feature the official Hans Christian Andersen 2005 logo on commercial products related to the Andersen bicentenary must pay a royalty to the HCA-abc Foundation

Facts about SAS and Rezidor SAS Hospitality
The SAS Group is Europe's forth-largest airline company and consists of regional and international airlines, hotels, freight and handling companies, etc. A few key figures from 2003: The total turnover exceeded SEK 57 billion. The fleet totals 302 aircraft flying to 130 destinations worldwide. There are 162 affiliated hotels. In 2003, the Scandinavian Airline System was the largest low-cost airline, offering efficiency and flexibility for business travellers as well as low fares for price conscious leisure travellers.

http://www.scandinavian.net

Rezidor SAS Hospitality is one of the world's fastest growing hotel groups with a portfolio of five hotel chains: Radisson SAS Hotels, Resorts, Park Inn, Country Inn, Regent and Cerutti.

Currently, Rezidor SAS has a portfolio of 220 hotels either in service or under construction in more than 40 countries. The strategic aim is 700 hotels in the combined five hotel chains by 2012.

In Denmark, there are 10 Radisson SAS hotels and 3 Park Inn hotels with more Park Inn hotels on the way.

For further information on Rezidor SAS:
http://www.rezidorsas.com
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