Monaco students score outstanding results in baccalaureate exams

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Monaco, well-known for the excellence of its schools, has just announced a new set of magnificent results for the baccalaureate examinations.

“The results of the baccalaureate and the Brevet de Technicien Supérieur (Advanced Technician Certificate) for 2018 have just confirmed the quality of the support offered to students in the Principality in preparations for this exam,” the Government said in a press release on Monday, July 9.

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The overall success rate was 97.3 percent in the first round, with 369 special mentions out of a total of 450 candidates.

The Lycée Albert 1er and the Lycée technique et hôtelier de Monaco (Monaco Technical and Hotelier High School) recorded an astonishing 100-percent pass rate.

RAMOGE partners invite photographic entries

Ramoge photographic competition

Under the auspices of the International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP), the RAMOGE Agreement has launched its photo contest for 2018.

You are invited to photograph the marine environment of the RAMOGE area, from Marseille in France to La Spezia in Italy and to express in images the relationship that men have with our Mediterranean.

Ramoge photographic competition

Photographers should attempt to highlight the relationship between human activities and the Mediterranean Sea in its many aspects, whether positive or negative. The best photos selected will be part of a travelling exhibition in the three countries of the Agreement.
You have until October 31, 2018 to send in your photos.

The contest is open to all. RAMOGE – representing France, Monaco and Italy – says it will pay particular attention to the youngest entrants because they are the eyes of tomorrow.

More details: http://www.ramoge.org/fr/ConcoursPhoto/

This year RAMOGE is one of the members of the jury, Mr. Riccardo Busi, President of FIAP.

Monaco’s new delegation takes part in MONEYVAL meeting

Moneyval assembly

The 56th Plenary Assembly of the MONEYVAL Committee took place in Strasbourg from 2 to 6 July 2 to 6 with a completely new Monaco delegation attending.

The Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Measures against Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL) is a permanent monitoring body of the Council of Europe responsible for assessing compliance with the main standards in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

Moneyval assembly

Through a dynamic process of mutual evaluation, peer review and regular monitoring of its reports, MONEYVAL aims to improve the capacity of national authorities to combat money laundering and terrorist financing more effectively.

The Principality was represented by an entirely new delegation composed of Philippe Boisbouvier, Technical Advisor acting as Acting Director of SICCFIN, Jean-Marc Gualandi, Technical Advisor (MONEYVAL and GRECO expert) and Louis Danty (MONEYVAL expert. The team’s mission is to prepare the fifth cycle of evaluation of the Principality of Monaco, which should take place at the end of 2019, or at the latest, the beginning of 2020.

Many contacts were made or renewed with the members of the Bureau and the Secretariat of the Committee, but also with the representatives of many delegations.

Among the topics presented and discussed were: “Breaking the anonymity of virtual currencies”, a presentation by David Parody, (Gibraltar); and “Tips for Identifying, Assessing and Understanding the Risk of Terrorist Financing in Financial Centres”, presented by Richard Walker (Guernsey).

Egyptian Minister of Antiquities helps inaugurate ‘Gold of the Pharaohs’

Egypt delegation from Ministry of Antiquities

HE Mr Khaled Elanany, Egypt’s Minister of Antiquities, paid an official visit to the Principality as part of the inauguration of the Grimaldi Forum exhibition “Gold of the Pharaohs: 2500 years of goldsmithing in Ancient Egypt” which took place, in the presence of HSH the Sovereign Prince, on Friday, July 6.

Egypt delegation from Ministry of Antiquities

At the end of the inauguration HE Mr. Khaled Elanany, was received in audience by HSH the Sovereign Prince.

An official luncheon was also held in honour of the Egyptian Minister, hosted by the Department of External Relations and Cooperation, in the presence of Patrice Cellario, Minister of the Interior.

Before leaving Cairo, HE Mr. Khaled Elanany told the local press that this exhibition in Monaco was one of the best ways to promote Egypt as a unique cultural and tourist destination. He stressed that this exhibition would attract not only Monegasques but also visitors to the French Riviera and Italy.

HE Mr. Khaled Elanany facilitated the exceptional loan of 150 works, most of which have never left Egypt.

FEDEM’s magazine covers several topical issues

Monaco Business News 63

The 63rd edition of Monaco Business News, published in French by the Federation of Monegasque Enterprises (FEDEM), has just been published.

Monaco Business News 63

The President’s editorial “Far away so close” calls for the need to be flexible and responsive in order for Monaco’s economic success to continue.

Among the topics covered in the magazine are an assessment of FEDEM’s activities in 2017 and prospects for 2018, which reviews the major economic, social and legal issues in which the FEDEM was involved in 2017 and on future issues. The Eco Note “Is education the key to tomorrow?” returns to the theme of “Cognitive Capitalism” and suggests a need for the educational system to become better adapted to the needs of business.

In addition to number of interviews on a range of topics, Monaco Business News also covers the mysteries of the blockchain and the
activities of the important Monaco Chamber of Shipping.

To download the magazine, follow this link.

Monaco a natural venue for Transition Forum

Lionel le Maux (left) with Eric Brundage.

Monaco Life publisher Eric Brundage interviewed Lionel Le Maux, CEO of Aqua Asset Management, founder and co-producer of the Monaco Transition Forum, held on June 26, 2018.

“I am a convinced investor in sustainable businesses since 1999, having developed this activity through the 21st Century until today, advising private investors, targeted entrepreneurs and family-led investors to invest in sustainable clean equities and industries.

Lionel le Maux (left) with Eric Brundage.
Lionel le Maux (left) with Eric Brundage.

“I have been working with products such as wind-produced energy, biogas and biomass, and especially, in the past seven or eight years, with solar and wind industries.

“To give an example of a company present at the Forum: Biogas, with Evergaz company, is a good example of a business opportunity with exponential growth within a 10 years turnover.

“Today, 85 per cent of my company business is done with family investors.

“One of the great missions of transition management is to look for companies who really want a transition from one world to another, and helping them to achieve their own transition.

“After some years, I eventually started a more formal company: Aqua Asset Management. The name of the company is from a restaurant in Hong Kong, Aqua, where everything started – with the idea coming out of a group formed of some of my partners and myself.

“We decided to focus on clean equities with two convictions:

“First, that we were living with sustainability and climate transition currently – the equivalent turning point that was the internet revolution 10 or 15 years ago.

“If I try to explain that, I would say that, nowadays, all the enterprises, governments and individuals in the world need to have internet integrated in their lives in order to work and produce. Internet started to expand In the world around 2000 and, 18 years later, no companies can be sustainable without a digital strategy.

“Well, we think that we are facing the same turning point today concerning the clean industries and clean equities. It goes with the new generations. They are already thinking in terms of ‘how clean is that company, that country or that equity’.

“Five or seven years ago, sustainability was just a communication issue in seminars. People wanted to appear like ‘green companies’.

“Today, mobility, building, chemicals, agriculture, basically all economic sectors are affected by this transition. Today we want Chief Sustainability Officers to appear in enterprises.

“It will now go from something ‘nice to have’ to ‘must have’. Because we believe that we are dealing now with a new ‘Environmental People Generation’.

“The Second conviction is to pinpoint the similarities and to gather people for this particular event from different origins: civil society, entrepreneurs, investment dedicated companies, big events organisers and startups.

“To protect the ecosystem, we have to involve a lot of different actors from different horizons to accelerate the transition.

“We must keep in mind that this is a ‘capitalistic transition’, replacing one world for another. To illustrate this, I like using the image of young people investing in buying a house instead of paying rent. It is the same idea with promoting clean energies. So, this event is first and foremost educational. It is possible to imagine adding clean equity to this event in the years to come.”

Why Monaco?

“Because one of our investors proposed to bring the event to Monaco, putting us in contact with Prince Albert II Foundation’s officials. Then, Mr Richard Attias accepted to be the organiser of the Forum.

“We chose Monaco for being a special place in the world, with a sovereign highly interested in promoting sustainable transition, and where decisions are quicker and easier to achieve.

“We have more than 500 participants this year, with 50 speakers coming from all around the world.

“Just today, HSH Prince Albert II and Paris Mayor Mrs Anne Hidalgo announced that the next Olympic Games in Paris, in 2024, are going to be clean and green. They signed a unique and global partnership on sustainability for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“For the moment, this Forum is held once a year here in Monaco and will stay based in the Principality. Setting other small local forums, on a specific subject, in other cities could be interesting but it is still under discussion.”