Novartis Chairman and CEO Daniel Vasella awarded with Italian national prize for his commitment to corporate citizenship
Novartis Chairman and CEO Dr. Daniel Vasella has been awarded the “Premio Nazionale Mondo del Lavoro 2005” (Italian National Prize in the World of Work) prize. Now in its second year, the award is composed of three categories featuring People, Opinion Leaders and Institutions. It recognizes the most effective and convincing expressions of innovation and creativity in a working environment.
November 23, 2005 - Thirty managers representing companies and institutions as well as opinion leaders were nominated through a survey conducted among 500 companies selected by an independent senior jury. Dr. Vasella was the sole international manager among the nominees. He received the award in the People category for strongly supporting the company’s voluntary work by involving all employees and establishing it as an important factor of integration and cohesion with the company’s neighborhood.
The ceremony took place on October 27, 2005 at the Milan Stock-exchange site, during the course of a well-attended convention dedicated to the future of the European economy. The convention was chaired by the Director of Sole 24 Ore, Italy’s leading economic and financial newspaper.
Corporate Citizenship in Italy
In addition to the Novartis yearly Community Partnership Day, Novartis Italy supports the following initiatives:
The future is now campaign, promoted by AIL (the Italian Association of Leukemias, Lymphomas and Myelomas) aims to increase awareness of the advances that have been made in research and in the treatment of blood tumors. This two-year campaign has been highly successful, with the close involvement of local institutions and considerable media coverage.
Lega del Filo D’Oro is an association that assists, educates, and is committed to rehabilitating children who are deaf and blind or affected by other multiple psycho-sensory handicaps. In 2005, the contribution of Novartis allowed the purchase of an advanced device for measuring cerebral maps and in 2006, a specially designed and equipped gymnasium for disabled guests will be set up.
The Tigrai project: In 2004, Novartis Italy signed an agreement with the Italian Ministry of Health worth USD 500,000 to use the breakthrough cancer therapy Coartem®, to help reduce mortality and rate of hospitalization caused by malaria in Tigrai, in northern Ethiopia. The aim of Project Tigray is to make the drugs available at local level through a network of about 90 Community Health Workers in order to reach people with no access to healthcare facilities. This innovative project will make it possible to verify the feasibility, impact, safety, and the costs and benefits of a “local” approach to the disease.