A study presented by the Group of Friends of Oceans and Seas has exposed a worrying lack of protection for important marine areas worldwide.
The study, conducted by Dr Ellen Pikitch, Professor at Stony Brook University in New York and Chief Scientific Officer of the Ocean Sanctuary Alliance, is entitled Gaps in the Protection of Important Ocean Areas and was presented last week at the Permanent Mission of Monaco to the United Nations in New York City.
The presentation revealed that a large number of maritime zones that are identified as being in need of protection are not designated Marine Protection Areas. The vast majority of these zones fall in under the jurisdiction of Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ).
EEZ’s are sites where nations have special rights regarding use of marine resources as well as exploration. These zones stretch from the coast to 200 nautical miles into the open ocean. They are different from territorial seas, which convey sovereign rights over the waters to a particular state, in that these areas cover only what goes on below the surface. The surface is still considered international waters and therefore no country cannot prohibit ocean going vessels from using these sites for travel purposes.
The findings of the study has been compiled on the World Database on Protected Areas, managed by the UN Environment Programme and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
Marine Protected Areas comprise just 4.8% of the world’s oceans. What’s more, less than half that, or 2.2%, of the oceans fall under the highly protected category of no-take marine reserves.
From gender equality to carbon neutrality, the Olympic Committees are taking steps to face the challenges and changes affecting us all globally, and the Permanent Mission of Monaco to the United Nations played a large part by hosting a meeting to debate these hot topic issues.
Despite its vaunted position in the collective worldwide history, the Olympic Games of today are subject to the same scrutiny as any other large international event. To that end, the decision-makers of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo met earlier this week in New York City to discuss and adopt measures pertaining to crucial subjects such as gender balance amongst athletes, the matter of the participation of a team of refugees, the use of recycled marine plastics as the construction material of choice for podium building and how to keep the Games as carbon neutral as possible.
The meeting was put on by the Group of Friends of Sport for Sustainable Development and was held at the Permanent Mission of Monaco to the United Nations. The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Dr. Thomas Bach, and the Chairman of the Organising Committee of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Mr. Yoshiro Mori, led the meeting and shared with the group these issues in advance of the UN General Assembly meeting to adopt the Olympic Truce. The IOC Permanent Observer to the United Nations, Luis Moreno, IOC member and President of the Inter-American Development Bank, were attending a meeting of the group for the first time.
Later, during the General Assembly meeting to adopt the Olympic Truce, an Ancient Greek tradition dating back to 776BC ensuring safe passage for athletes and spectators as well as guarantees the host city was shielded from attack, Japan expressed gratitude for the worldwide support after the Fukushima disaster of 2011 and went on to tell those present how the medals for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games have been fashioned from 80,000 tonnes of recycled mobile phones and other discarded electronics collected over a two year period.
Isabelle Picco, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Principality of Monaco to the United Nations, spoke and gave her full support of the measures being taken by the Olympic Committee, especially those pertaining to gender equality and endorsement of public policies.
Additionally, she reminded those present of the ongoing contributions of the Permanent Mission to promote sustainable sport practices and development. She went on to wish the athletes good luck and expressed her hopes for the success of the Games.
Photo: Co-Chairs of the Group of Friends of Sport, HE Isabelle PICCO and Talal Al-KHALIFA, Chargé d’affaires of Qatar, surrounded by Dr. Thomas BACH and Mr. Yoshiro MORI, as well as Mr. Luis MORENO, during the meeting.
Victoria Silvstedt has come a long way since her Playmate of the Year days. Now a successful day trader and investor in start-ups, Victoria has hung up her modelling and acting heels to live a more balanced lifestyle.
In an interview with Monaco Life, the successful business woman talks about everything from her former housemate Melania Trump and the Playboy mansion, to feeding the homeless and taking control of her finances.
Monaco Life: Can you tell us about your early years?
Victoria Silvstedt: I grew up in a small village in northern Sweden and I was in the junior Swedish skiing team from five years of age. When I was 16, I suffered a serious accident during a downhill race and my mum said I was never racing again. Of course, my dad wasn’t happy because he wanted me to go all the way to the Olympics, but my mum sent a photo of me to a beauty pageant – Miss Hawaiian Tropics – where I came first runner up. There was a model scout there and I ended up getting a contract with the biggest modelling agency in Stockholm. Then my sister sent a photo of me to the Miss Sweden pageant when I was almost 18, and I came runner up in that, so I went on to became Miss Sweden for the Miss World competition. Once I finished school, I left Sweden and headed to Paris, telling my mum I would be back after the summer. I never came back.
Is Paris where it all began for you?
I was actually struggling as a model in Paris. I was this tall, blonde muscular young woman which wasn’t really what the Parisian fashion houses wanted at all. They told me to cut my hair, lose weight, tone down. I was in shock – I thought that modelling would be easy for me, but Paris was like a cold shower. I was doing around 12 castings a day and I wasn’t fitting in anywhere.
Eventually, one job led to another, I changed modelling agencies, and I moved in to a nice house with my roommate Melania Knauss, now known as Melania Trump, and we lived together for a year. We were with different modelling agencies, but we would always get together at night and talk about the day’s castings, which were never the same because she was more editorial and I was more commercial.
I was in Palm Springs when a model who had just been on the cover of Playboy, Jennifer Driver, said to me: “You will be perfect for Playboy!” She ended up speaking to Hugh Hefner, showed him my picture and told him I could be the new Anna Nicole Smith. So, he flew me out to Los Angeles and … I never went back to Paris. It was the American dream. I signed with Elite Models in New York, they got me a Guess jeans contract and I started working in tv and movies. So many opportunities presented themselves and I made the most out of each one. I think I had a lot of luck; it could have gone another way. To have all this success very quickly, and to be on my own, but I always went with my gut feeling. I think a lot of it comes from the strength and discipline I had from training as an athlete which helped me survive out there.
But you didn’t stay in the US?
No, after working in the US for a while I went back to Europe and got a contract for a tv show in Italy, and had to learn Italian very fast. Then I got all these Italian film roles and had a huge career in Italy. At the same time, I ran into a tv host in Paris at a restaurant who was doing a pilot of the French version of the Wheel of Fortune and he wanted me to be a part of it, even though I didn’t speak French. So, I said “ok”, and that ended up being a huge success with around seven million viewers every night. It was the highest rating game show in France.
Victoria Silvstedt with La Roue de la fortune host Christophe Dechavanne
On top of that, I did a reality tv show for E! called Victoria Silvstedt: My Perfect Life. But having five cameras follow me around every day was exhausting, and they wanted to create drama because that is what reality tv is all about. So, after one season I said I never want to do that again.
Then, because I was working so much in Europe, I gave back my US Green Card – it didn’t make any sense to earn euros and pay taxes in America. In 2011 I decided to become a resident in Monaco. I still keep an apartment in New York and Miami, because I love it there, but I adore being in Monaco and Europe, especially going home to Sweden.
What reaction do you get from Sweden?
At the beginning it was a big scandal; it was all over the news that I was the first Swedish Playmate of the Year. I remember my mum asking me why I was in Los Angeles for so long and I would say I was just doing a shoot. Finally, she asked for a phone number to reach me on, and when she called and heard “Playboy mansion” she was confused and hung up. When she called again and asked for me and they said “oh yeah, she is right here!” she was shocked. So, eventually I was able to explain that this experience had led to so many other doors of opportunity opening up for me, and she was proud of me.
And your father?
Well I think I never spoke to him about it, I mean what was I going to say? (laughing)
So, when did you go from model and actress to financial trader and business woman?
Since 2008, I have been an active investor in the financial market. I lost a lot of money in the market crash so I took everything into my own hands. I started investing my own money and I am my own day trader. I do a lot of equities and bonds, and in Monaco you don’t declare taxes from your investments so I am in the perfect place. I also go to a lot of hedge fund meetings and do financial trade talk shows in Sweden.
Meanwhile, I invested in a Swedish cosmetics company Base of Sweden. It is all-female driven, so I really have a connection to this company and I love the products. We are now in Holland, Czech Republic and Sweden of course, and we are working on expanding to more countries in Europe.
And I was Associate Producer of the documentary ‘The Dalai Lama – Scientist’, which made its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival and has since won 12 film festival awards including six Best Documentary awards.
You recently released a prosecco in your name, can you tell us about that?
Well, we all love bubbles! And this is actually from a Swedish company that approached me and asked if I was interested in doing a prosecco in my name. They could see that I have a strong connection to Italy. So, my prosecco is called Victoria Prosecco La Dolce Vita, and it ties in nicely with Princess Victoria of Sweden also.
Funnily enough on Saturday, 14th December, the theme of the Bal de Noël is La Dolce Vita, and they asked if I would like to have my prosecco at the event. This will be the first big event to feature my prosecco. It will also be sold at Monaco restaurants and the Blue Gin bar at Monte Carlo Bay.
We see you hosting and supporting many events and charities in Monaco. How do you decide who to lend your name and time to?
The Princess Charlene Foundation is particularly important to me, as her brother Gareth and his wife Roisin are very close friends of mine. And I think her foundation does wonderful things helping children locally and internationally with learning to swim and water safety.
The Bal de Noël on Saturday night is organised by my good friend Sandrine Garbagnati Knoell. I have so many amazing friends and we are in this beautiful place, the least we can do is give back to charities and do what we can. That is why I am also the ambassador of the Guardian Angels of Monaco, a charity that feeds the homeless in Nice from the food we collect in Monaco. It is not perhaps the largest and most talked about charity, but it is amazing because this goes directly to the people, and I have been there many times myself on the streets feeding the homeless and handing out sleeping bags. Every time we have a food station set up, we have 400 to 500 people, including kids, and even more in the winter. It is a nice little charity to be involved in.
Victoria Silvstedt has become a brand, so how important is branding nowadays in terms of marketing, especially with regards to social media?
Thanks to social media, you can start or revive your brand or name. I am not on tv everyday so Instagram is a platform that is particularly helpful for me and I use it to promote what I have and what I do. Social media these days is everything.
What is the story you portray on Instagram?
Lifestyle, travel, wellbeing. I like to show that it is good to stay active and be healthy but it is also great to go out and have fun. It is important to find the balance.
Well, since I like to have a lot of fun, I need to find that balance. So, I keep a healthy fitness regime, I powerwalk and do yoga and pilates once in a while, I take my vitamins, drink water and try to sleep at least eight hours. Every morning I have celery juice and hot water and lemon. I have oatmeal for breakfast and I don’t eat much meat. I try not to eat processed food, fried foods or milk products. And for me that works. We are all trying to find the fountain of youth so I keep looking for it every day. But I swear by the celery juice. I got the idea from my health guru on Instagram, Medical Medium. Let’s see if it works and I live to be 120!
Dubbed the Oscars of Sport, the prestigious two day extravaganza paying homage to the world’s top athletes is now also a hub for glamour and fashion.
The 4th annual World Sports Legends Awards (WSLA) were hosted 6th and 7th December at the Salle d’Or in the Fairmont Hotel.
This year, in addition to honouring the world’s top athletes for their personal and professional achievements, the event featured entertainment, art and fashion, creating a glamorous red-carpet occasion worthy of its nickname.
Hosted in five languages by Ambassador and Master of Ceremonies, international ballet star Lorena Baricella, the Saturday night Dinner Gala paid tribute to the best of the best athletes for their endeavours on and off the sport’s fields.
Nasser Al-Attiyah from Qatar is a three-times Paris-Dakar winner and an Olympic medallist. One of the greatest sportsmen of the Middle East, he’s now preparing for the next Dakar race and the Olympic Games in Tokyo. He is also involved as the Ambassador for the Football World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
American F1 World Champion, Indycar and Nascar Champion Mario Andretti is a true racing icon. He is at the head of a dynasty of eight pilots including his son Michael and his grandson Marco. He’s the only person to win Daytona, Indianapolis and the F1 World Championship. His legendary career boasts 111 victories.
Loris Capirossi from Italy is a three time MotoGP World Champion. He had one of the longest careers as a rider and has become Safety Advisor for the International Moto Federation.
Ana Gabriela Guevara hails from Mexico. She is a 400m World Champion and a multi Olympic medallist. She is now turning her hand to politics and she has been nominated Minister of Sport of Mexico.
The WSLA Best Values Award for Community Support went to Brit Connie Henry for the Track Academy. Formerly an international triple jumper, she founded this organisation to help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds through Athletics.
The WSLA Posthumous Award went to Ferenc Puskás, Hungarian football champion and legend of the football world who also had his country’s national stadium named after him. The award was received by the Puskás family represented by his great-granddaughter Ane De Juan Damborena, and the former President of Hungary and Olympic Champion, Pál Schmitt.
The Gala and was touted as an American-style show, punctuated with a red carpet arrival for guests and entertainment by a ballet troupe and an orchestra.
Monaco is exploring ways to team up with the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which would facilitate cancer prevention in the Principality.
Meeting with the Department of Social Affairs and Health, the representative from IARC, Alexandre Bordero, recently presented several suggestions of ways the IARC and the Principality could collaborate.
For example, their expertise could be instrumental in creating a local cancer registry, which is instrumental in forming a complete local picture for cancer doctors and researchers to view. This would help detect a sudden rise in the incidence of a certain cancer, for public health care programme planning, and for patient care improvements.
A partnership would also facilitate the ability to collect samples from the global biobank, which the IARC has access to, that could be fed to the Monaco Scientific Centre’s ongoing paediatric cancer researchers.
Additionally, as the International Agency for Research on Cancer reviews agents and substances used in the course of normal daily life to determine if they have carcinogenic effects, their information would give health care professional in the Principality up to date data to inform the public of the risks associated with these substances, as well as the possible side effects caused by electromagnetic waves.
The IARC is linked to the World Health Organisation and focuses its research on the causes and prevention of cancer with the goal of being able to create public health recommendations.
An international exhibit of fossils, minerals, jewels, precious stones and meteorites will be on display this weekend at the Grimaldi Forum.
From 14th to 15th December, the World Mineral Institute is organising an event for those interested in the world of gems and rocks.
The exhibition is open to all and is an opportunity to view thousands of top shelf specimens from 60 international exhibitors.
Representatives from Morocco, Spain, Pakistan, Madagascar, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Mexico, Brazil and Thailand are displaying a vast selection of interesting natural marvels including fossils that date back 500 million years, giant ammonites, dinosaur bones, crystals, brightly coloured minerals, shells, jewellery, precious stones and rare gems.
A free-of-charge lottery will be held every hour where each visitor has a chance to win exceptional and exotic prizes such as dinosaur teeth, precious stones, fossils and minerals.
The event runs from 10am to 6pm at the Grimaldi Forum. Entry is €6, kids under seven years are free of charge.
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We see you hosting and supporting many events and charities in Monaco. How do you decide who to lend your name and time to? 
