施華洛世奇公司環(huán)境顧問 Christoph Imboden博士

Dear Friends,

“Water is Life”. We hear this so often that many have come to believe that it is just another slogan of the environmental movement. But it is more than a slogan - it is true. Without water, life would not have developed. Without water, life could not be sustained - all life, including our own.

And yet - we treat this life-giving resource as if it was limitless, as if it could be stressed endlessly. But the point has long been past where we could take such an attitude. Millions of people die every year because the water has stopped running or because it has become a health hazard. And the economic aspirations of many people in many countries have become unattainable because water is getting scarce.

For more than 100 years, our own economic prosperity at Swarovski has only been possible because we have reliable access to water coming straight from the mountains in our native country Austria. We need water for generating power, and we need lots of water for making our crystals so sparkling.

Water and crystal are both symbols of purity, of vitality and of energy. Therefore we have put the sustainability of the use of the world’s water resources at the centre also of our corporate social responsibility.

When, 12 years ago, I developed the idea of the Water School I had no idea that it would fall on to such receptive grounds. Encouraged by the success in Austria we extended the programme to China, India and Uganda - and more countries will probably follow.

However, I am well aware that it is a long way from idea to reality. We would not have been able to lead this programme to such flourishing without the tremendous engagement of countless people - teachers, educators, community leaders, local authorities - working in their schools, villages, towns and cities. And nothing would have happened at all without the enthusiastic response from tens of thousands of students!

We are very proud at Swarovski that we have been able to mobilise so many to spread the message of sustainable water use. China is no doubt our biggest success story. The programme is growing into a movement thanks to you all and thanks the immensely capable leadership by the Shangri-la Institute.

I am so happy to be here - and wish you every success in this workshop.