Day: 18 February 2018

The first edition of the International Philanthropy Summit took place on Thursday, February 15, at Auditorium Rainier III.

Founded by Antropov Alexey, the event brought together some 60 people to hear distinguished philanthropists, who help “drive public attention to the social responsibility of wealthy individuals and luxury brands”.

The programming was divided into three sessions: How Private Wealth Can Fill Public Gaps: Charity, Philanthropy & Social Investment; What Are the Key Trends in Philanthropy?; and How Celebrities & Luxury Brands Work to Save Natural Resources and Improve the Livelihoods and Education of the Most Vulnerable and Unprotected People?

The distinguished list of international speakers included well-respected Monaco figures – the Director of the Prince Albert II Foundation Olivier Wenden, Luc Pettavino, Founder of OnlyWatch, the biennial charity auction of one-of-a-kind timepieces for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy research, and Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannu, Founder of the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation, and the first Monaco resident to join the Giving Pledge, the “global, multi-generational initiative” that encourages the most affluent individuals and families to dedicate the majority of their wealth to philanthropy.

At the end of the day, three speakers were presented with awards, designed by Monaco-based artist Marcos Marin. The first trophy was given to Dr Rupert Graf Strachwitz, Founder of the Maecenata Institute for Philanthropy and Civil Society in Berlin, whose involvement with not-profit organisations for over 30 years has earned him acclaim as one of Germany’s key philanthropists.

The second prize was awarded to Sir Stelios, whose Foundation is committed to supporting entrepreneurship with annual awards such as the Stelios Awards for Disabled Entrepreneurs in the UK. The easyJet founder received a Knighthood for services to entrepreneurship, and since 2009 he has been the Honorary General Consul for the Republic of Cyprus in the Principality of Monaco.

Daniel Gros, Director of the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels, received the final award. Mr Gros, a frequent speaker at World Economic Forum, previously worked for the International Monetary Fund and was a former advisor to the French prime minister.

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On Thursday, February 15, the Palace brightly displayed the colour orange, as special lights illuminated the building in a tribute International Childhood Cancer Day.

This was an initiative of the Monaco-based Fondation Flavien, which had gathered several hundred people at the Place du Palais for a symbolic march to raise awareness about paediatric cancers.

According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), every three minutes a child dies of cancer, but children have a signifcicantly higher surivival rate than adults, which in high-income countries reach an average of 84 percent.

The Fondation Flavien aims to help and support the fight against childhood cancers, rare diseases in children and the families affected by these types of diseases. This is done through research, preventive action, care and support for families as well as the medical profession. The Foundation therefore works hand in hand with the Scientific Center of Monaco – led by Professor Rampal, Scientific Director Denis German and Research Director, Gilles Pagès.

The most used therapeutic model in the treatment of childhood cancers combines surgery followed by chemotherapy and then conventional radiotherapy. In Nice, the technical platform will soon be equipped with a proton therapy device, only the second in France. This is a very precise radiotherapy that can irradiate the tumour by sparing the neighbouring organs to significantly reduce adverse effects.

However, the response of paediatric cancer cells to this type of therapy is still poorly understood and needs to be compared to conventional treatment in order to better appreciate the therapeutic benefits. Although the treatment permits stabilisation of the disease at first, relapses related to an ability to form blood and lymphatic vessels and high metabolic (energetic) activity of residual tumour cells can be observed. These mechanisms, already well known in adult tumours can be countered with new anti-cancer therapies, called “targeted therapies”, not yet used in children for lack of studies and funding.

In 2015, IARC reported worldwide incidence of childhood cancer increased “from 165,000 new cases annually to 215,000 cases for children 14 years and younger” and 85,000 new cases for 15-19 year-olds.

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Albert Croesi, Managing Director of Monaco Inter Expo (MIE), and Etienne Franzi, President of Compagnie Monégasque de Banque (CMB), signed a working partnership agreement on Thursday, February 15, in the presence of Gilles Tonelli, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, and HE Mireille Pettiti, President of MIE.

Convinced by the positive experience of the first partnership between MIE and CMB during the Astana EXPO-2017 Specialised Exhibition, the Monegasque bank wished to become more involved with the State Corporation to promote the influence of the Principality locally and beyond its borders.

“MIE is not only honoured by the confidence of the CMB, which becomes its official partner, but also proud to be associated with the image of excellence of this bank,” said Mr Croesi.

MIE’s mission is to promote the image of Monaco abroad and to organise events in the Principality, the first of which, entitled “Meeting of the Historic Grimaldi Sites of Monaco”, will take place on June 23 and 24, 2018.

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The Monaco Philosophical Encounters hosted an important and successful lecture on the topic of “Childhood and Violence”, given by Boris Cyrulnik, at the Princess Grace Theatre on Wednesday, February 14.

After a presentation by Charlotte Casiraghi, founding Member of Rencontres Philosophiques de Monaco, the French neuro-psychiatrist discussed the evolution of violence in history as well as the dangers of emotional neglect and the different types of attacks – verbal, psychological, and physical, which can damage the child’s relationship to the world and damage its brain.

Recalling that the repercussions of violence can be detected in utero, Boris Cyrulnik, through the concept of “sensory niche”, emphasised the need to develop as soon as possible a secure attachment with the child, which will induce him or her to develop strong self-confidence and self-esteem.

In front of a passionate audience, with whom he largely interacted, he concluded his presentation with an extension of the conference’s theme by evoking the obvious links between violence and deculturation, violence and eroticism, violence and authority.

Dr Cyrulnik’s interest in psychiatry, particularly psychological resilience, stems from his own childhood during WWII. As a Jewish child, both his parents were arrested and killed. In 1943, young Boris was captured by Nazis in Bordeaux but managed to avoid detention by hiding in restrooms and later living as a farm boy – Jean Laborde – until the end of the war.

The funds raised during the evening will be fully donated to the Monegasque Association “Jeune J’écoute”.

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Principality providing direct help to child victims

A Monegasque delegation took part in an exchange of views on co-operation between the Council of Europe and the United Nations (UN) in the field of human rights, held in Strasbourg on Thursday, February 15.

Held every year within the framework of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, the meeting aims to enable various experts to discuss ways to improve strategic collaboration and synergies between the Strasbourg Organisation and UN bodies on the many topics of common interest.

A discussion on the protection of migrant children gave the Principality the opportunity to highlight its international commitment, both political and financial, to the rights of the child, particularly in the context of the migration crisis.

The Committee of Ministers is the statutory decision-making body of the Council of Europe, composed of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Member States. The latter meet once a year at ministerial level and their Delegates (Permanent Representatives to the Council of Europe) sit once a week.

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