Jean Castellini awards the Prince’s Government Prize to Robert Boisbouvier. Photo: Manuel Vitali /DC
At the closing of the Monaco Business expo on Tuesday, November 14, Jean Castellini, Minister of Finance and Economy, presented the Prince’s Government Prize to the winner of the 22nd edition of the Business Creation Competition organised by the Junior Economic Chamber of Monaco (JCEM).
The annual event is sponsored by Athos Partners, Manpower, Cabinet MMA Pierre Brière, Crédit Agricole Monaco et Monaco Telecom.
This year, the Jury – made up of representatives of the private and public sectors – awarded the Prince’s Government Prize, which amounts to €40,000, to Robert Boisbouvier for his newly created PAPYRUS company. The young Monegasque has set up an online platform that connects graduate students and younger students, to enable them to benefit from personalised sessions of academic and professional guidance.
Winners of the 2017 Business Creation Competition organised by the Junior Economic Chamber of Monaco. Photo: JCEM
The second prize, awarded by JCEM, and amounting to €21,000, was this year awarded to another young Monegasque, Sacha Savoca, for the company he also created in 2017. “Link Your Leisure” is a digital application aimed at facilitating the organisation of and access to leisure in a given region, highlighting the tourism and leisure stakeholders concerned. This young company was also chosen by the Monaco Tech Jury during its last selection round.
Finally, the Jury also decided to support the project of the young Melahat Zorlu by awarding her the “Athos Partners” Coup de Coeur Award for its “Sign Me Up” project, whose objective is to promote training and services in sign language in the Principality.
Jury and winners of the 22nd Business Creation Competition organised by the Junior Chamber Economic of Monaco. Photo: Manuel Vitali /DC
Minister Castellini praised all the candidates and praised the work done by the JCEM, whose teams work with professionalism and enthusiasm to organise many activities throughout the year in favour of entrepreneurship and youth in the Principality. He also congratulated Kevin Hin, the first Monegasque to be appointed Executive Vice-President of the Junior Chamber International.
“There is no shame in failure,” the Minister concluded in his speech. “It will lead you to your next success.”
The Monaco Government and its International Cooperation Department are proud to have contributed to the success story of Diyaa Khair Eddine, a Syrian refugee who fled his war-torn country with his family and was able to open a shoe-making workshop in Casablanca, with the support of the United Nations Refugee Agency.
Diyaa’s story stems from the partnership signed in 2011 between the Government and the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Morocco.
Forced to rebuild his life as a refugee in exile, in 2014 Diyaa arrived in Casablanca, a dynamic city on the Moroccan coast where he settled with his wife and their two children. He started from scratch by setting up a workshop in an alley, and spent long hours making sandals, clogs and barefoot.
“At first, I worked between 18 and 20 hours a day and I lived 20 kilometres from Casablanca,” Diyaa said. “I had two hours of transportation every day to get to work.
“Little by little, things have improved. Today, I have four Moroccan employees.”
The 37-year-old’s perseverance paid off and her determination to survive helped her retain customers and get more orders thanks to the grant she received from UNHCR, the United Nations Development Agency (UNAIDS). refugees, which allowed him to buy his first sewing machine.
His success was the topic of a recent TV programme – “Kolona abtal” (We are all champions) – that aired on channel 2M.ma in Morocco.
Another national general strike in France will seriously disrupt travel on Thursday, November 16, as a number of trade unions continue their protest against changes in the labour laws.
Rail travel will be affected from about 7 pm on Wednesday, November 15, and disruption will continue until Friday, November 17, 8 am. A detailed list of cancelled trains will be published by SNCF during Wednesday.
Air Traffic Controllers have been asked by the militant CGT union to strike, and this will have a considerable impact on air travel. Public transport in Nice is also affected.
Teachers have also been asked to take part, while workers in several hospitals have already indicated they will participate in the day of protest.
The Princely couple on Tuesday, November 14, received in the Hall of the Guards at the Palace several members of the delegation that will fly on November 29 to the Emirates to participate in the Rugby 7s tournament in Dubai, local French daily Monaco-Matin reports.
They call themselves the Monaco Impis, the Warriors of Monaco in Zulu, a name chosen by Princess Charlene who has been particularly interested in this project, which includes the participation of her brother, Gareth Wittstock, since its inception.
With a bi-national team composed of five players from the Monaco national team and seven South African international players, this is a first in the history of Monegasque rugby and reflects the many exchanges over several years between the Monegasque Rugby Federation and the South African counterpart.
The programme, dubbed the Monaco South Africa Rugby Exchange, supported by the Princess Charlene Foundation, is reflected in the hosting of young South African players in February for the Sainte Devote tournament. The Monegasque team under-16 years participates in a tournament in South Africa. The Monaco Impis are the new piece in the jigsaw.
“It’s great that for the first time our senior players can take part in this project with four of the five rugby players from the Monaco team coming from the training provided since childhood by the federation,” its president Cédric Nardi commented.
Ah, the magic of social media bringing people together. In 2017 you can’t deny the influence it plays in our daily lives interacting with the world around us. Just by casually scrolling your Instagram feed and liking a picture of someone with the same pair of shoes as you can give you a connection, a sense of belonging like you’re both part of the same fashion tribe.
So while in the midst of an Instagram hole (basically when you get lost bouncing from profile to profile clicking on people you see on the previous person’s page), I came across Romain Antonini – aka @rudeboyroro – who I saw was geotagging CANNES at that moment.
A quick scroll down and I was obsessed with his style. Totally my mood. More is more. I knew I had to get in touch, so I did and we began bonding over our respective works in the fashion industry and Balenciaga Triple S sneakers vs the Speed Trainers. When he agreed to meet me in between his hectic rehearsal schedule in Cannes, I was like HELL YES. Rehearsal for what you ask? Well you’re about to find out.
LP: What would you say it is exactly that you do? RA: Well I’m a dancer/choreographer, I danced on X Factor for a while and was a Stage and Artistic Director for TV shows like The Voice and The Voice Kids in France. Also I do artistic direction for music videos and image direction and styling for musical artists. I don’t really do editorial work for magazines because I feel like there’s more personality to be shown in real life.
LP: How did you get into this? RA: I opened my own dance studio when I was 18 in Paris and after that I moved to Los Angeles for three years. When I came back to Paris, I was dancing for different artists including Matt Pokora and Shy’m who noticed that I had a cool personal style. They began asking me if I would style them for some television promos and then that turned into personal and performance styling.
LP:What have been some highlights of your career? RA: Oh, there have been many! I would start with when I was in Los Angeles I starred in a indie film called “Leave it on the Floor” about the gay black ballroom scene (voguing and such). It was directed Frank Gatson who is Beyoncé’s Creative Director which was pretty amazing.
During the Fête de la Musique in Paris I danced for David Guerra and afterwards Kelly Rowland from Destiny’s Child and now a solo artist came up to me and said she loved my dancing and asked if I would dance for her the next day. Last year I worked with Kylie Minogue, I staged and choreographed the dancers’ parts, and with Will I AM from The Voice, I staged as well. Afterwards Will I AM told me he loved my style and asked if I would style him when he was in town – which I’ve done twice. I guess people really dig my vibe!
image5.jpeg (Matt Pokora and dancers looks by / styled by Romain & Alicia Antonini)
LP:So you’re in Cannes for the NRJ Music Awards on November 4, tell me a bit about that. RA: Well the NRJ Music Awards has 22 artists from France and the world – The Weeknd, Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran, U2, Matt Pokora – performing their greatest hits, and I am the Artistic Director of the show, as well as creating looks and styling Matt and his dancers, alongside my sister Alicia who has a degree in fashion design. It’s great because when we have an idea for a look she can create it or tell me how it will work on stage for dancing in. Actually we’ve been working on our collection together so stay tuned for that!
LP:That’s amazing! So working with such creative people that allow you to really express yourself and then turning your eye to the mainstream. What is a common mistake you see people making when they get dressed? RA: Definitely people that are not dressing for themselves but rather what they see on someone else and want to copy the look, even if it doesn’t flatter their own body. Just know what looks good on you and you’ll be fine.
LP:What would you say is a signature Romain Antonini style? RA: American flavour … with a French touch! I love things that are trendy, I like box volumes mixing the sport with the chic. Maybe throw in some S&M vibes with a harness or choker, currently though I’m wearing a lot of COS … you can’t be extra ALL the time!
Instagram sensation and style blogger Louis Pisano writes SuperficialLivingDiary.com. Article first published November 15, 2017.
