The France Macau Chamber of Commerce (FMCC), raised MOP 61,000 for the Association of Rehabilitation of Drug Abusers of Macao (ARTM) at its annual charity gala dinner at MGM Macau.
The funds will be used to launch ARTM’s awareness programme about alcohol abuse and its impact, and to set up a 24-hour hotline.
About 290 diners attended the event, titled France Macau Chamber of Commerce (FMCC) 2022 Charity Gala Dinner, which was themed Around the World in 80 Days.
A recorded welcome speech from the new Consul General of France in Hong Kong and Macao, Christile Drulhe, was followed by Chairman Rutger Verschuren’s speech, which drew parallels between the event’s theme and the near three-year Covid-19 pandemic journey of Macao’s civil society and business sector.
Verschuren, who is General Manager of the Artyzen Grand Lapa Macau, said: “Let us reframe bad luck as an opportunity for growth, reflection, change and developing resiliency. This is exactly what FMCC and many of us in Macao have done: turning the unexpected hardships into opportunities by seeing and connecting the bright dots.”
He added: “Almost three years down the road, we have found ways to survive yet [it has not been] easy and we have gone through a lot of changes and new normals. By sourcing and implementing new technologies, new organisation structures and concepts, rethinking our business processes, we became more efficient and stronger.”
The dinner was attended by Macao Government Tourism Office Deputy Director Ricky Hoi Io Meng and other Macao and Greater Bay Area civic and industry leaders.
