The Hotel Courtyard by Marriott Duesseldorf Seestern invited the children participating in the initiative “SMS. Be Smart. Join in. Be fit.” to take part in a cooking course for children on December 11th. Under the guidance of chef Andreas Huber, the primary school students prepared a nutritious and balanced meal and learned how to handle food and cooking utensils. “We hope that with our cooking activities we can help students appreciate healthy food,” said hotel manager Rolf D. Steinert, who has supported the initiative since last year. “We want to put children in the position to take responsibility for their own nutrition, and preparing a meal is an important step in that direction,” said Professor Karsten Müssig of the German Diabetes Center (DDZ), a partner in the DZD. A delegation of the Department of Health Promotion of the ministry in Chiba Prefecture (Japan) attended the cooking course as guests. During this week the delegation visited various institutions in Düsseldorf that deal with the topic of health and exercise.
 
The initiative “Be Smart. Join in. Be fit.“ headed by Professor Karsten Müssig shall raise the awareness of children in Düsseldorf primary schools regarding healthy nutrition and exercise. The participating children receive extra lessons on nutrition in cooperation with the Educational Center for Dietary Assistants of the Kaiserswerther Diakonie and take part in the exercise program for primary schools “Fitness for Kids” developed by sports scientist Dr. Kerstin Ketelhut. The two health insurance companies IKK Classic and KKH, diabetesDE – German Diabetes Aid as well as renowned partners and prominent people in Düsseldorf support the project. The patron of the initiative is Thomas Geisel, mayor of the city of Düsseldorf. In addition to the Hotel Courtyard by Marriott Duesseldorf Seestern, further partners of the SMS initiative include Fortuna Düsseldorf, Borussia Düsseldorf, the Düsseldorf EG, Sportwerk Düsseldorf, the Municipal Sports Office Düsseldorf, the Bädergesellschaft Düsseldorf, the Dietrich Grönemeyer Foundation, the Sterntaler Foundation, the Weber School Düsseldorf and Düsseldorf artisan bakers, which all provide very attractive extracurricular educational venues for the children.