An innovative urban art project for at-risk youth, sponsored by Park Inn by Radisson, was a big winner at the January 2017 UNWTO awards ceremony at the International Tourism Trade Fair in Madrid, Spain. Park Inn by Radisson’s “Adding Color to Lives” project, which brings together youth in difficult life situations for a community art project expressing their dreams and cultural heritage, won the UNWTO Award for Excellence and Innovation in Enterprises.
The award-winning project connects community youth with renowned street artist Joel Bergner, Park Inn by Radisson hotel staff and members of the community, who create large-scale urban murals in their local neighborhoods. The murals are part of a long-term engagement of Park Inn by Radisson hotels with vulnerable youth on various levels: as mentors, coaches, for sports & cultural activities and to grow the youth’s employability skills and increase their outlook on decent jobs and a better future overall.
“Adding Color to Lives is a great program in support of the U.N. International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development,” said Inge Huijbrechts, Vice President, Responsible Business, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group. “From a single individual to our surrounding communities—and expanding to points across the globe—it creates a ripple effect of positive change, allowing us to add color to the young people’s lives. The long-term connection between our more than 140 Park Inn by Radisson hotels worldwide and local youth-at-risk also contributes to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 8 on providing decent work for all.”
The ‘Adding Color to Lives program’ will continue to run in 2017, with its first Park Inn by Radisson mural in the U.S., in Sharon, Pennsylvania.
Other winners of this year’s awards include ANVR (Dutch Travel & Trade Association), Govardhan Ecovillage and Tony and Maureen Wheeler, founders of the Lonely Planet.
