Day: 10 September 2017

Prince Albert has been in Portugal for several days for a visit of a diplomatic, historical and scientific nature.

On Tuesday, September 5, the Sovereign Prince met HE Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, President of the Republic of Portugal at the Belém National Palace in Lisbon. They discussed bilateral relations, issues of environmental protection and, more specifically, the topic of Marine Protected Areas.

Then, the Prince went to Funchal, on the Portuguese island of Madeira, to meet up with the Yersin of the Explorations de Monaco as it sets out for Macaronesia.

This first scientific stage is also of historical significance because Prince Albert has returned to the footsteps of his great-great-grandfather Prince Albert I.

Prince Albert attended the opening of the exhibition “A Prince explorer, Albert I of Monaco on the discovery of Madeira”, to be held at the Museum of Natural History of Funchal until January 7, 2018.

This exhibition, carried out by the Archives of the Prince’s Palace in coordination with the Oceanographic Museum, the Audiovisual Archives of Monaco and the Natural History Museum of Funchal, is designed as a travel diary that follows the route to Madeira of Prince Albert I between 1879 and 1912.

It was also on the island that Prince Albert I of Monaco, then heir to the throne, met in 1879 for the first time the Duchess of Richelieu, who became Princess Alice when he married her in 1889.

On Wednesday, September 6, Prince Albert went to the Church of Our Lady of Monte, which houses the statue of the Virgin of Monte, patron saint of Madeira, as well as the tomb of Emperor Charles I of Austria (1887-1922), beatified by John Paul II in 2004.

The Sovereign Prince concluded his visit to Monte by returning to Funchal aboard the famous Carros de Cesto.

The Prince also participated in a workshop of experts who will present a synthesis on research on the monk seal, now the most threatened species in the Mediterranean.

Since August 20, ten researchers from three different organisations have also taken turns to draw up an inventory of the biodiversity of the waters of the little-known archipelago.

Friday, September 7 will be devoted to the discovery of the desert islands, an uninhabited archipelago off Madeira, with the exploration of two caves and the observation of monk seals, cetaceans and seabirds. Prince Albert I had repeatedly explored these Desertas Islands during his visits to more than one hundred years ago.

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While French government officials confirm Irma’s death toll at 4 on St Maarten but no fatalities on St Barts, the islands are trying to come to terms with the aftermath – and the destruction of both airports on St Barts and St Maarten airport, amongst other logistical problems. Meanwhile hurricane Josè is expected in the area in the coming days.

Without electricity and drinking water, the French Red Cross are trying to coordinate with the French military to administer essential supplies, secure the area and avoid the spread of disease. The biggest question facing the organisations is how to deliver these supplies to the island as not only is the airport unusable, but there are is large debris and obstacles hindering air access.

Contrary to popular belief, not everyone is a millionaire on St Barts and consequently Gustavia Yacht Club has stepped up to these challenging times to provide much needed financial help to those in need who have been hit hard by the hurricane.

The Club’s Commodore, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, has asked the Club’s bankers in Monaco (CFM Indosuez) to set up a special ring-fenced sub-account in the name of the Club with the designation “St Barts – Hurricane IRMA disaster relief fund”.

The Stelios Philanthropic Foundation will be the first one to donate €100,000 to this disaster relief fund and the Club is hoping that more members and friends of the island will contribute to the cause by donating in cash to this account.

Click here for information on how to donate via bank wire transfers.

The funds raised will be dispensed wisely and transparently by decision of the Executive Committee of the Club (Sir Stelios with Ken Griggs and Gustavo Riccobon) under the watchful eye of the full Board of Directors. “We will give priority to real people in real need in our home port of Gustavia first and the island as a whole, always trying to assist people who might not get hand-outs from the government or other bodies,” the Club said in a staement.

“We will try to help the neediest first in a quick and efficient way and will be publishing updates on our Facebook page and website and have a full report out by the end of 2017 by which time we want to have dispensed all the funds to good causes.”

Whether it be the hospital or the old people’s home, or a neighbour who has been left homeless, it’s uncertain at the moment where the funds will be most needed. It could be to cover the cost of a soup kitchen or just handing out small sums of cash for people to get by day to day, the Club added.

“We are stronger together and we hope to play an active part in the rebuilding of our beautiful island,” Gustavia Yacht Club commented.

Article first published September 7, 2017 at StBartsLife.net

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After the Thermes Marins electric bike station launched in May, the Compagnie des Autobus de Monaco (CAM) has now opened a new station close to the Monaco Yacht Club, located at the foot of the staircase connecting boulevard Louis II to Quai Louis II.

Monaco’s electric bicycle service now includes 17 stations and 105 bicycles. The Principality’s initiative in favour of eco-mobility is a great success with more than 700 subscribers.

Following the successive deployments of stations in recent years, the Principality’s electric bicycle service means that there is one bicycle for every 370 residents. The figure in Monaco is twice as large as the average recorded in Europe for areas between 50 and 500,000 inhabitants.

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On Friday, September 8, and in the presence of Patrice Cellario, Minister of the Interior, and Archbishop Bernard Barsi, Isabelle Bonnal, Director of National Education, Youth and Sports presented figures and the key innovations of the 2017/2018 academic year, which she sees as “a symbol of excellence and fulfilment”.

There will be 5,878 students – 4,587 in the public sector and 1,291 in the private sector – returning to class on Monday, September 11.

Among the novelties in the Primary sector, she pointed to the expansion of the “student success” system – mastery of reading skills – the training campaign for first level teachers in Mathematics and the experimentation with a dress code for the students of CP, CE1 and CE2 at La Condamine school.

In the Secondary sector, at the Technical and Hospitality School of Monaco the European “mention” will be extended to the vocational baccalaureate, the introduction of Philosophy for vocational baccalaureate studies and the opening of a European section centred on English in the second general and technological class at the Lycée François d’Assise-Nicolas Barré.

Also worth noting is the creation of a Primary Adaptation class at the Saint-Charles School and a Class of Adaptation and Integration (AIS) in Secondary Education at Charles III College, to further assist the most students with special needs.

Citing Emile de Rousseau, Isabelle Bonnal, who will attend various school openings on Monday and Tuesday, said that the priority for the educational community is to “give students the desire to learn”.

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Gilles Tonelli, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, and Frédéric Mion, Director of Paris Institute of Political Studies, have signed a new partnership agreement aimed at raising students’ awareness of development issues. The signature took place on the same day as students of the Menton Science Po Paris Campus resumed their studies, on Friday, September 8.

Over the past three years, over 900 young people have benefited from specific lessons, participated in project-building competitions and met with recognised experts in humanitarian and development, thanks to the cooperation of the International Cooperation Department and the Menton Mediterranean Middle East Campus.

In view of the partnership’s undoubted success, the Government of Monaco decided to continue its commitment and to sign a new agreement, with a grant of €200,000.

This contribution will make it possible to organise, during the next three academic years, new initiatives to raise awareness of development, training in project management and to award a scholarship to two deserving students.

The Prince’s Government and Science Po are delighted with this new partnership aimed at developing the civic responsibility of the students who are certain to be tomorrow’s future decision-makers in their country of origin.

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