Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/621909
46 Events maltatoday, Sunday, 3 January 2016 GSD Marketing Ltd contributes to Malta Community Chest Fund's L-Istrina As part of its annual commit- ment towards one of Malta's pil- lar fund-raisers, GSD Marketing Ltd donated over €26,000 to the Malta Community Chest Fund (MCCF) during the L-Istrina marathon. The donation was presented by GSD Marketing Chief Operating Officer Maria Micallef, on be- half of the company's directors, management and staff. Some 25 employees also took part in the marathon, answering phone calls with donations. GSD Marketing Ltd is part of the Mizzi Organi- sation. "As a major company in Mal- ta's and Gozo's business which more or less reaches every mem- ber of the Maltese community through the variety of products GSD Marketing produces and distributes, we have made it our responsibility, year on year, to as- sist the MCCF in carrying out its sterling and priceless cause," said Micallef. "Being able to take off some of the burden of a person, or fam- ily, going through a rough time, is the noblest gesture the human soul is capable of." Recently, President Marie-Lou- ise Coleiro Preca was quoted that the MCCF receives around 200 new applications every month from people who are suffering from severe chronic diseases or who are going through a chal- lenging situation which drives them to seek the Fund's help for specialised care, to assist fam- ily members receiving treatment abroad, financial assistance of basic necessities, including food. The MCCF also donates some €900,000 to assist other NGOs. Opel demonstrates technology for safer inner city driving City driving represents a big challenge for modern drivers. There is so much happening at once and there are so many cars, trucks, buses, cyclists and pedes- trians to keep an eye on. Higher safety in this complicated mo- bile environment is the goal of several assistance systems under development at Opel, which can warn the driver or brief ly take control of the vehicle. The Germany-based car- maker is working on innovative driver-assistance systems as part of its role in the UR:BAN research project (user-oriented assistance systems and network management). The aim of the project, which is partly funded by the German government, is to provide drivers with forward- looking support, tailored and customised to driving in urban traffic. Thirty-one partners from the automotive industry, electronics and software com- panies, together with research institutes and local authorities, are developing intelligent as- sistance and cooperative traffic management systems. Especially in urban traffic, sit- uations frequently occur where ordinary drivers may not react in time – cars emerging unex- pectedly from parking lots, chil- dren unseen behind parked cars suddenly dashing into the road. Opel has built an Insignia dem- onstration vehicle that not only warns the driver of such dan- gers, but can also avoid collisions with vehicles and pedestrians by taking automatic evasive action through steering combined with braking. The car is equipped with ad- vanced camera and radar, and modified braking and steering systems, which can intervene in the control of the vehicle. Another Opel demonstration vehicle shows the potential for further development of driver assistance systems through studying driver behaviour. Using vehicle data, a front camera and a head-tracking camera, a spe- cially developed algorithm anal- yses driver behaviour patterns to predict at an early stage, for example, whether the driver will perform a lane change manoeu- vre or not. Such enhancements will optimise the performance of driver assistance systems such as side blind-zone alert by avoiding unnecessary warnings and driver irritation, helping to increase the acceptance of active safety features in the future. In order to improve inner-city driving Opel can call on years of experience in car-to-X com- munications and research into automated driving. But despite rapid progress in assistance systems and cars that can drive automatically, the company re- mains committed to keeping the driving experience enjoyable. At Opel, driving is fun when it is neither boring nor over-de- manding, and those are precise- ly the conditions the company's driver assistance systems are aiming at. Opel is represented in Malta by Cars International, Mdina Road Qormi. For more information or test-drive on any Opel car, send an email to opelsales@cil.com. mt or call 2269 2122. You can also visit opel.com.mt or the Fa- cebook page Opel Malta Evasive action: The Opel Insignia recognizes the suddenly emerging obstacle and avoids a collision with automatic steer- ing and braking Gudja students catch the drop through HSBC Water Programme A staff volunteer from HSBC Bank Malta explains the water- saving features of the newly in- stalled push taps (IMG 1/2) and thermostatic mixing valves (IMG 3) to students of St Benedict Col- lege, Gudja Primary School. The school of 98 students won fund- ing from the HSBC Water Pro- gramme – Catch the Drop cam- paign's Community Outreach Programme by proposing to save water in its facilities system. Al- together, 24 push taps and three thermostatic mixers were in- stalled. As part of the campaign, pro- posals submitted by individual students are evaluated under the 'School Outreach Programme', while those by schools and lo- cal councils are evaluated under the 'Community Outreach Pro- gramme'. The deadline to submit project proposals closed on Fri- day 18 December 2015. Your first click of the daY www.maltatoday.com.mt The fund-raising Strina in progress Gudja students catching the drop