Podravka signs sponsorship agreement for "Cooking against Mines" campaign

Podravka will invest HRK 120,000 in the humanitarian campaign entitled "Cooking against Mines". A sponsorship agreement for 2005 was signed with Vemat, a marketing company organising this humanitarian project which is taking place this year for the third time. Last year, Podravka also supported the “Cooking against Mines” campaign with HRK 100,000.

“Last year, Podravka recognised the value of this project and became engaged in its implementation. As a socially responsible company, we wish to contribute to the resolution of this great problem. I am particularly glad to see that the people whose idea this was, and who are working on it, are doing it from the heart, because we in Podravka always work from the heart,” said Podravka’s Marketing Director, Tomislav Horvat.

The “Cooking against Mines” gastronomy show, sponsored by Podravka, takes place every second Tuesday. During the year, guest visits are made to all the counties that still contain minefields. In addition to this, a Gastronomy Cookbook is issued containing the recipes of Podravka’s culinary experts. A telephone line for “Croatia without Mines” is open at 060 888 400.

Since 1991 in Croatia, 437 persons have been killed by landmines, and 990 have been seriously injured. Among these victims, there were 131 deminers and 82 children, out of whom 11 were killed. The Croatian Mine Action Centre estimates that there are about 300,000 anti-personnel mines and pieces of unexploded ordnance left, as well as minefields in 12 counties. The average price of clearing one square metre in Croatia is HRK 10.96. Pursuant to the Ottawa Convention, the Republic of Croatia committed itself to clear all minefields by 2009, but without the assistance of a humanitarian campaign such as “Cooking against Mines”, this would be an almost impossible task.