Day: 27 February 2019

A Monegasque delegation is currently taking part in a congress in Brussels dedicated to ending the death penalty across the globe.

The 7th World Congress Against the Death Penalty is organised by the NGO ‘Together Against the Death Penalty’, and is in partnership with the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty. Over three days, representatives of multilateral organisations, governments, experts and members of civil society are coming together to discuss the universal abolition of the death penalty.

In 2013, Monaco was one of a large number of states to sign the ‘Common Call for the Abolition of the Death Penalty’. The Principality is also a member of the Core Group, which was created to support international mobilisation for the universal abolition of the death penalty.

The death penalty was abolished in Monaco in 1962. Since 2007, it has co-sponsored the biennial resolutions of the United Nations calling for a universal moratorium on the death penalty.

Sophie Thevenoux, Ambassador of Monaco to the Kingdom of Belgium and Marie-Noëlle Albertini, Diplomatic Advisor to the Councillor of Government-Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation form part of the Monegasque delegation in Brussels.

The congress is being held from 27th February to 1st March.

Some of the region’s finest yachting chefs will come together for the second edition of the Superyacht Chefs Competition in Monaco.

The Monaco Yacht Club, as part of its ‘La Belle Classe Academy’ training centre, is partnering with Bluewater to organise the culinary competition, under the presidency of H.S.H. Prince Albert II. The event will bring together 12 chefs working on superyachts over 40 metres in length.

Over the course of four 30-minute rounds, three chefs will each prepare an original dish based on a basket of mystery ingredients comprised of fresh products and herbs. Only three finalists will be able to compete in a grand finale where they will once again have to cook with a mystery basket of ingredients in only 45 minutes.

The competition will be judged by some of the great names from the catering world, including Michelin starred chefs Virginie Basselot, Jacques Maximin, Thierry Thiercelin, Christian Plumail, and Cedric Seguela (founder of Secrets de cuisines in Antibes and former on-board chef).

This year will also see a Mixology Competition, organised and led by YCM bartender Giorgio Rocchino, voted the best Italian bartender and recognised as 3rd best in Europe. Nine candidates will have to prepare a cocktail with prescribed ingredients and will only have 10 minutes to make their beverage, while following very strict rules. Only three will be chosen as winners, judged by three judges of excellence in this field.

The event will be held on 18th April, with the Yacht Club aiming to highlight certain trades of yachting, which is the 4th largest industry in the Principality. It also continues the YCM’s goal of positioning Monaco as a centre of excellence in the yachting sector.

A new agreement between Monaco Telecom and Huawei is expected to accelerate the deployment of ‘Smart City’ services in the Principality, in line with its ‘5G Smart Nation’ strategy.

The new strategic agreement on Internet of Things (IoT) to support the ‘5G Nation’ project was initiated by Monaco and signed at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on 25th February. It follows Huawei’s deployment of 5G telecom infrastructure in the Principality over the past 4 months, during which 100 sites have been installed.

Monaco Telecom has not yet specified what types of services will be offered, but one of the ideas is to connect urban equipment such as street lights, parking and government services to the cloud for data analysis to improve their management. The NB-IoT network (also deployed by Huawei) will be used in addition to the 5G sub-6GHz network. Initially, the developments will be based on a Huawei test cloud platform in Dusseldorf, Germany, but the goal is to eventually have the servers in Monaco.

The first partnership between Monaco Telecom and Huawei dates back to 2012. Last September, the two companies signed an agreement to ensure the full 5G coverage of Monaco in 2019. Xavier Niel, founder of Free, has been the majority shareholder of the Monegasque operator since 2014.

A commission has been set up to deal with construction projects in the Principality. Among its objectives, the team will deal with scheduling and noise laws that were proposed earlier this year and look at international solutions that can be applied here.

The first ever meeting of the Building Innovation Commission took place on Tuesday 26thFebruary. Among its members are Director of Public Works Jean-Luc Nguyen, representatives of the Principality, representatives of the public and private sectors of construction and concessionaires (telecom, water, electricity), and Government Counselor – Minister of Equipment, Environment and Urbanism Marie-Pierre Gramaglia.

The creation of the commission follows the publication at the beginning of the year of the ministerial decrees on the schedules and noises of building sites. The main objectives are to mobilise and cooperate with construction stakeholders, to take stock of practices already existing in Monaco with regard to the management of construction nuisances, to look for solutions implemented in similar situations internationally, to confront these solutions with feedback from the Monaco players, to study the replicability of these solutions in Monaco, and to decide on the recommendations that will be implemented in Monaco.

The commission will be supported by two technical consultants: SETEC Energy Environment and Bureau Veritas. They will be in charge of performing an audit of existing solutions and completing a feasibility/replicability study in Monaco.

The government has said that noise pollution, including construction equipment, work methods, and construction techniques, be treated as a priority.

“This approach will allow us to find the best techniques and practices to apply on our territory,” said Marie-Pierre Gramaglia during her introductory speech. “It is important for this Commission to give companies a medium and long-term vision and to enable them to know the expected changes in terms of resources and organisation.”

She continued: “All of this can be a real opportunity for Monegasque companies who will be able to propose relevant solutions to the State, within the framework of the logic of awarding public works contracts to the best bid.”

Coordinated by the Directorate of Public Works, the Building Innovation Commission will meet at regular intervals. The next plenary meeting is scheduled for July 2019.

True to its commitment of protecting marine biodiversity, the Monaco Government is having specially designed modules installed into the Port of Fontvielle. The concrete structures imitate natural waterholes and are designed to create small aquatic reserves to promote marine life along the Mediterranean coastline.

Throughout this week five modules, which have been developed by the company ECOncrete,  will be installed in the outer harbor of Fontvieille. Over the course of three years they will be scientifically monitored by the Environmental Department to evaluate their effectiveness. If tests proves conclusive, other modules could be installed at different locations on the Monegasque coast.

“In recent years the Government, with the Directorate of the Environment, has launched several ecological restoration projects,” said Marie-Pierre Gramaglia, Government Counselor – Minister of Equipment, Environment and Sustainable Development. “These are part of a global approach to enhance nature in the city. Today, this process continues with the installation of modules that promote the development of plant and animal micro-organisms.”

More information: environnement@gouv.mc