Month: February 2019

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

The 40th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council is currently underway in Geneva, with a delegation from Monaco taking part. Over the coming weeks, experts will discuss everything from climate change to the rise of white supremacy.

The session opened on Monday 25th February, with the Council holding a high-level discussion on the major current global challenges that have a direct impact on human rights such as migration, climate change and air pollution, which the UN Secretary-General António Guterres said causes nearly seven million deaths every year. Inequality was also addressed and its relationship to instability and discontent. Finally, the Council denounced serious violations of fundamental human rights throughout the world, including freedom of expression, discrimination and violence against women.

The Monegasque delegation includes Isabelle Rosabrunetto, Director General of the Department of External Relations and Cooperation, and Carole Lanteri, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Principality to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

Over the next four weeks, the Human Rights Council will review over 120 reports on a wide range of issues presented by more than 35 human rights experts. In the spotlight will be issues such as the death penalty, children’s rights and the rights of people with disabilities. It will also address the human rights situation in a number of countries such as Syria, Myanmar and Venezuela.

Finally, on 15th March, the Council will consider a report on the 3rd Universal Periodic Review of Monaco, which took place on 12th November 2018, with a view to its final adoption.  It will also commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination with a debate on the mitigation and countering of rising nationalist populism and extreme supremacist ideologies.