Day: 11 December 2017

Towards the end of the day on Saturday, December 9, Mayor Georges Marsan and several members of the Communal Council welcomed the Princely Couple and their Children to the Christmas Village on Port Hercule. Also in attendance were Baroness Massy, her daughter Mélanie-Antoinette, and many representatives of the high authorities of the Principality.

Following the traditional La Palladienne dance, Mayor Marsan addressed a special wish to Hereditary Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella who were celebrating their third birthday the next day.

He praised the success achieved each year by the Christmas Village, one of the most important annual events organised by the Monaco City Council, and warmly congratulated all the municipal staff, and more particularly the various teams of the Entertainment Services and the elected officials who collaborate each year on this popular project.

The Sovereign Prince and Princess Charlene admired the many decorations and showcases centred on the theme “The Workshops of Santa Claus”. As usual, wooden chalets and natural spruces are in place on Quai Albert I, as well as the many activities and workshops for children.

By Saturday, many skaters had already found their way to the outdoor skating rink in the heart of the Village, while the more intrepid were trying the joys of free fall in the new wind tunnel installed at the Rainier III swimming pool.

The Monaco City Hall has again ensured complete safety by renewing last year’s security measures so that visitors can enjoy the Christmas Village to the full.

Monaco’s Christmas Village runs until January 7, 2018, while the skating rink is open until March 11.

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In 2002, Action Innocence was set up in Monaco to talk to school children and adolescents about the dangers of the internet, which nowadays includes cyberbulling, sexual predators, pornography and damaged reputations.

Every year, with the cooperation of the Department of Education, the non-profit organisation has a team of trained psychologists that visit each primary and secondary school throughout the Principality, to explain the associated risks that come with online connectivity and to try to instil an ethic and proper conduct while using the internet.

“We don’t shock the students,” Nick Danziger, Vice-President of Action Innocence and award winning photographer, told Monaco Life. “We work very hard to create an awareness in the classroom. And this also means that no child hears the same message twice from our association.”

Over the past fifteen years, more than 53,000 children have benefited from Action Innocence’s prevention program.

Listening to Nick, who sits in on as many of the classroom sessions as he can, my jaw hangs open as I learn what some young people are looking at on their phones, or what they are being exposed to in the world’s best-selling video game – rape or, in another game, as one boy described, the ability to “buy women”; their parents ignorant of the game’s Advisory Warning.

Founded by its president, Louisette Lévy-Soussan Azzoaglio, Action Innocence has one annual fundraiser, the spectacular charity Christmas tree auction in the lobby of the Hotel de Paris, which will take place this Thursday, December 14, at 6:30 pm, in the presence of the association’s patron, HSH Prince Albert II.

“Each year, between 26 to 33 trees are donated by benefactors, and we are hopeful to raise €80,000,” Nick stated.

Part of the monies raised go towards the purchase of safe webcams, ones that cannot be pirated and used by someone with bad intentions, which Action Innocence provides to all students in its prevention campaign.

The funds are also used to pay the salaries of the psychologists and to provide various tools such as educational mousepads and pay for printed materials like posters and helpline cards.

The Christmas tree auction on Thursday is open to the public but get there early, it’s standing room only. If you can’t make it but want to donate €100, download a form from their website.

Action Innocence will hold its next informative meetings for parents on Thursday, February 8, 2018 at 8 pm.

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A day in the life of the Prince

On Thursday, December 7, prominent representatives from Family Offices and the yacht investment community came together to toast the winter season at BAFTA 195 Piccadilly.

The annual invitation-only event fosters productive business exchange and celebrates Monaco in London. The evening was held in partnership with the Monaco Economic Board and was supported by a number of notable Monaco-based and global businesses, including BlockEx, AM Yacht Design, Silver Arrows Marine, Thirty-Nine Monte Carlo, Edmiston, Icon Gold Fund and BASYCS Switzerland.

The event kicked off with opening remarks by the Monaco Economic Board, who shared their mission to help companies grow their business in Monaco. Other speakers represented an array of perspectives on the wealth of business and leisure resources on offer in Monaco, from the latest on innovative luxury motor yachts to an exclusive sports club, whose programming is inspired by the principles of sporting excellence and a holistic lifestyle.

Some 100 attendees enjoyed Tattinger champagne while reading Investor Media’s newly released bi-monthly magazines: Family Office Investor and Yacht Investor. The magazines are distributed internationally, and spotlight topics relating to investment trends, luxury lifestyle and travel, and the arts and culture.

The cocktail, which ended after 10 pm, showcased an artistic display of glassworks by Lalique, as well as paintings by Rodolfo Villaplana, winner of the Young Masters Prize, and Mark Dziewulski. Dziewulski’s paintings travelled directly from the Venice Biennale to BAFTA, which his representation office, Lauren Xandra of luxury marketing firm L&X, remarked to be “a location which truly reflects the rich cultural heart of London”.

Xavier Calloc’h, CEO of Investor Media, expressed his gratitude to the Monaco Economic Board and the “great success of the event with guests attending from around the world and delighted sponsors.”

Images courtesy of David Dyson/Investor Media.Article first published December 11, 2017.

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Sweden highlights its strengths to Monaco entrepreneurs

Following the appointment of Laurent Anselmi as Director of Judicial Services of the Principality, the position of representative of Monaco to the Venice Commission was entrusted to Professor Bertrand Mathieu.

Accompanied by Christophe Sosso, substitute member, also representing the Principality, Professor Mathieu participated in the 113th General Session of the Venice Commission, held on December 8 and 9.

The Venice Commission, the European Commission for Democracy through Law, is a consultative body specialising in constitutional law, set up by the Council of Europe.

Based in Venice, it includes independent experts from all of its member states, as well as observers from every continent. The next session will be held on March 16 and 17, 2018.

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For the fourth consecutive year, the Junior Economic Chamber of Monaco – which focuses on the areas of Training, Entrepreneurship and Networking – organised the Get in the Ring competition.

The day’s training on Friday, December 1, started at 8:30 am, with a working breakfast with all the incubated startups of MonacoTech. Throughout the day the candidates were coached by high-level mentors in a highly-charged but studious atmosphere.

At the end of the first round of the competition for start-ups, six candidates were selected to go on stage in front of the Grand Jury later in the day: Hyve, Wafer, Coviago, O’Sol, Zappik, and Onhys.

The jury for the evening session, which started at 6 pm at the Meridian Beach Plaza, consisted of Rémi Raso, Nicholas Cournoyer, Mauro Dell Orco, Florence Richardson, and Invest Monaco’s Justin Highman.

The winner, Onhys, which specialises in modelling urban regeneration plans, is now directly qualified for the global final of the Get in the Ring competition to be held in March 2018 in Carcais, Lisbon.

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Government tightens labour law compliance

Air traffic at Nice-Côte d’Azur airport has been shut down due to poor weather conditions across the Riviera on Monday. (A major snowfall across the UK has also seen affected flights out of London.)

All flights have been cancelled until 6 am Tuesday. For further information, passengers should call the airline directly or contact the airport on 0820 423 333 (€0.12/minute). Alternatively, keep up-to-date with real-time flight status on the airport’s website.

Météo-France had placed the Alpes-Maritimes department on orange alert for Monday, warning of heavy rainfalls, floods, risk of avalanches and crashing waves, with swells of up to 4 metres, that could close seaside roads.

Up to 250mm of rain was expected in the Grasse region, with at least 80mm to 120mm of precipitation accumulating along the Coast. Wind gusts of up to 70 km/h should continue until evening, and thunderstorms are forecasted to hit around 4 pm.

The RM 6098 sea road at Cagnes-sur-Mer was closed, as well as the Promenade Reine Astrid (RD 6327) in Menton. Access to Isola via the RM 97 was also closed.

The Prefecture of the Alpes-Martimes advised people to stay indoors and especially avoid the sea and sea roads altogether.

Christmas markets and other outdoor activities had been cancelled Monday.