Lighting crackers during Avurudu celebrations has been an integral part of the festivities and the custom has regrettably marred lives, through careless use, often blinding or maiming young children as well as adults.
Lighting crackers during Avurudu celebrations has been an integral part of the festivities and the custom has regrettably marred lives, through careless use, often blinding or maiming young children as well as adults.
This year too Aviva NDB Insurance launched a campaign to capture the attention of young families warning them of the dangers, and as a result there was only one cracker-related accident reported, according to news reports quoting the National Hospital director, Dr Hector Weerasinghe. This shows the success of the media campaign to raise awareness among the public on preventing firecracker accidents.
Urging everyone to light crackers with greater care, the message this year was developed with the objective of encouraging the public to be more safety conscious without dampening the festive spirit.
The company has focused on firecracker safety since 1992 and consistent safety messages during festive seasons over the years have effectively reduced the number of injuries resulting from firecrackers to near zero.
Safety is the company’s primary corporate responsibility platform and the promotion of cracker safety has significantly contributed to reducing accidents, not only during Avurudu celebrations but also during the year-end festivities. Some of the campaigns succeeded in winning prestigious advertising awards as well.
“Our endeavour to contribute meaningfully to our community has made a difference to the nation and we are happy to note that our sustained communication strategy has had positive results in reducing injuries from firecrackers during New Year celebrations,” commented Amal Perera, AGM, marketing.
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Media enquiries:
Nishanthi Gunewardene - Senior Executive, Integrated Marketing Communications
Telephone: Office - 2310078
Notes to editors:
About Aviva
Aviva is the world’s fifth-largest* insurance group, serving over 53 million customers across Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific. Aviva's main business activities are long-term savings, fund management and general insurance, with worldwide total sales of £45.1 billion and funds under management of £379 billion as at 31 December 2009.
Aviva is the largest insurance services provider in the UK and one of the leading providers of life and pension products in Europe. The Aviva media centre at www.aviva.com/media includes images, company and product information and a news release archive.
* based on gross worldwide premiums at 31 December 2008
About NDB bank
NDB Group is one of the largest financial conglomerates in Sri Lanka, operating regionally in Maldives and Bangladesh. The group offers project finance, corporate banking, SME lending, retail banking, investment banking, stock broking, wealth management and insurance solutions under one roof. Today, NDB bank, the commercial banking arm of the NDB Group is the highest capitalized Sri Lankan commercial bank.