A severe weather warning has been issued for Friday 20th with heavy rain and possible flooding. It has prompted the prefecture of the Alpes Maritimes to close all schools in the department, and while the same won’t apply in Monaco, the government is urging people to take the necessary precautions.
Meteo France issued the orange weather alert late Thursday evening. Intense rain is expected to hit early morning and continue throughout the day, with possible thunderstorms also expected, especially in coastal areas. The peak intensity should be in the middle of the day, and conditions are likely to easy by the evening.
As a result, the prefecture of the Alpes Maritimes issued a directive for the closure of all schools, mainly because it is also suspending school transport services.
Around 50 to 80mm of rain could fall in less than 24 hours, while winds may reach up to 100 kilometres per hour and swells of around two to four metres are likely.
The Monaco government issued a statement late Thursday evening saying it has decided to keep crèches and educational establishments in the Principality open, while recommending to parents and all persons residing in neighboring municipalities to follow recommendations put forward by the Prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes regarding travel.
People are advised to avoid driving if possible and the Monaco government has reminded employees that no one will be penalised if they are unable to make it to work because of weather conditions.
Top picture: Precipitation map of France at 2pm on Friday
A delegation from Monaco has taken part in the first World Refugee Forum, where important pledges were made for better refugee inclusion, education and jobs.
The forum was jointly organised by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Switzerland, and took place on 17th and 18th December 17 in Geneva.
Debates focused on the sharing of burdens and responsibilities, education, employment and livelihoods, energy and infrastructure, solutions, and capacity for protection.
This, the first forum of its kind, brought together more than 3,000 participants, including refugees, and 750 delegations, and provided an opportunity for member states of the United Nations and other stakeholders to highlight their main achievements and share their good practices.
It also gave them an opportunity to make pledges and detail concrete actions to advance the objectives of the Global Compact on Refugees, which was affirmed by UN member states in New York in December 2018. Under the Compact, Global Refugee Forums take place every four years.
“Public support for asylum has wavered in recent years. And in many cases communities that host refugees have felt overwhelmed or forgotten,” said UN High Commissioner Filippo Grandi. “But refugee situations are ‘crises’ only when we let them become so, by thinking short term, by failing to plan or work together across sectors, and by neglecting the communities they arrive in. At this forum, we have seen a decisive shift towards the longer-term view.”
An initial analysis indicates that there were also major financial pledges. Up to US$2.2 billion was pledged by the World Bank Group to be available for a dedicated funding window for refugee and host communities in low income countries over the next three years.
In addition to humanitarian and development pledges, more than US$250 million was pledged by business groups. At least 15,000 jobs will be available to refugees through these initiatives. There will also be some 125,000 hours per year of pro bono legal counselling.
The Principality is a partner of the UNHCR, with which it has engaged in a cooperation agreement since 2010, and has developed partnerships in Africa and the Middle East. Monaco also supports research carried out by the High Commission on forced displacement due to climate change.
The Monaco delegation included Carole Lanteri, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Principality of Monaco to the United Nations Office in Geneva; Marie-Noëlle Albertini, Diplomatic Advisor – Department of External Relations and Cooperation; Yordanos Pasquier, Senior Program Manager – DCI and Suzana Vaz, Attaché – Permanent Mission of Monaco to the UN in Geneva.
Monaco’s youngest citizens have been treated like little princes and princesses at the annual kids Christmas bash at the Palace, a tradition started by Princes Grace more than 50 years ago.
More than 600 children, ranging in ages from five to 12 years old, were invited to the Palace on Wednesday 18th December to celebrate an early Christmas with the Sovereign Prince, Princess Charlene and Princess Stephanie’s daughter and son, Camille Gottlieb and Louis Ducruet.
The children, all adorned in white elf hats, were first treated to a show by a group of young dancers dressed in traditional Monegasque costumes with little fur trimmed capes, to add a holiday touch. Then they got to see a hip-hop dance performance in the Throne Room, a decidedly modern addition to this traditional event, which dates back to the 1950’s.
The kids moved onto the main event, where they received gifts and treats from the Sovereign Prince, the Princess, Ms Gottlieb and Mr Ducruet.
This custom is unique amongst European royals and is certainly one of the most-beloved. Princess Grace started the tradition when she was still new to Monaco and opened the Palace to underprivileged children for a special afternoon. It was a hit with the kids, no surprise there, and she and Prince Rainier III decided to make it a yearly event.
The whole Palace springs into action weeks before the event, preparing gifts and entertainment – which has progressed from Princess Grace pulling strings in Hollywood to obtain old Disney cartoons to show, to today’s live spectacles.
The Grimaldi family has also sent out Christmas cards, this year featuring Princess Charlene in a stunning red gown, the Prince looking casually smart and the twins as cherubically adorable as ever.
Jazmin Grace Grimaldi has released a new song with her rocker boyfriend Ian Mellencamp.
Prince Albert’s daughter released the duet, titled Thankful, on Monday 16th December with her longtime beau.
The holiday song features the pair singing about how thankful they are for eachother’s love. “All I need is your love on this Christmas morning,” sings 27-year-old Jazmin in her sultry jazz style.
The artwork for the song is a black and white photograph of Jazmin and her 33-year-old boyfriend cuddling.
Ian Mellencamp is the nephew of famed singer songwriter John Mellencamp. The musician and former Calvin Klein model released a new album in November titled Romance in D.
Meanwhile, Jazmin released her first single titled Fearless in October.
Monaco’s Young Chamber of Commerce (JCEM) followed up a successful first edition of its Entrepreneurship Trophies in 2018 with another this year by awarding a new host of Monegasque companies.
The event, held in the Salle des Arts at One Monte Carlo on 17th December, was developed as an extension of the Business Creation Competition hosted by the JCEM every year.
They decided that honouring only the winners from a single competition was not enough, as they reward many projects throughout the year and this event gave them the opportunity to publicly do so.
Winners from several competitions were therefore recognised as well as a number of ‘Monegasque Business Success Stories’ and projects created exclusively by the students from Monaco’s schools, namely those from Albert 1er, François d’Assise, and the Technical and Hotel Lycée.
Many local dignitaries spoke, including Minister of the Interior Patrice Cellario, Minister of Finance and the Economy Jean Castellini, President of the National Council Stéphane Valéri, and President of the Education, Youth and Sports Commission of the National Council Marc Mourou.
The winners were:
Seeds of entrepreneurs: My Monaco (FANB), Easy Work (Technical and Hotel High School of Monaco), Mon’Eco (Lycée Albert Ier)
Startup Weekend Monaco: Octo’Travel – Language Courses
Business Creation Contest: World eBikes Series (Government Prize), ETYC (JCEM Prize), Sea Further (Coup de Coeur Athos Partners Prize)
James Wren, ZSL’s Executive Vice President of Global Resources and Monaco Life’s new contributor on sustainability, explains how the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) has evolved from the first scientific zoo to a global conservation charity.
As we prepare to ring in the new year, the ZSL will be celebrating a phenomenal 193 years of working for wildlife.
During that time, the charity has evolved from the world’s first scientific zoo to a world-class science, conservation and education institution inspiring millions to create a world where wildlife thrives through ZSL’s two zoos, carrying out conservation in the field in more than 50 countries, and publishing ground-breaking research to help save the world’s most endangered species.
ZSL London Zoo has long been at the forefront of zoological development, home to the first public aquarium, the first reptile house, the first living hippopotamus in Europe, and in 1916 Evelyn Cheeseman became the first woman in a curatorial post.
Zoological Gardens 1836 (c) ZSL
ZSL Fellow Charles Darwin worked with ZSL London Zoo’s curator of birds to identify the individual finches he studied while researching his theory of evolution by natural selection, while Jenny, the Zoo’s resident orangutan and the first ape the biologist ever saw, played a huge part in Darwin’s conclusion that man and ape must be related.
Our commitment to learning remains as strong today as it did when the Society was founded in 1826, and we continually develop our zoos to ensure we meet the complex needs of the animals in our care and can apply our expertise to protecting their wild counterparts. More recently, researchers studied the ‘waddle’ of the zoo’s Humboldt penguins in an attempt to understand the birds’ unique gait. Using custom-designed mechanics, the birds had to simply walk over plates in the ground in order for the researchers to learn how they had evolved to move that way.
Winnie and Christopher
Over the years our zoo has been home to many famous animals, including Guy the gorilla, Obaysch the common hippo and Winnie the black bear, immortalised as one of the most famous bears in the world through A.A. Milne’s stories. Today, the London Zoo is home to a diverse array of species, ranging from tiny Partula snails to towering giraffes.
Giraffe at ZSL London Zoo (c)ZSL
Zoos are a substantial and real part of the world’s conservation movement. The many ways we provide support include contributing to research and data on animal ecology, physiology and behaviour, developing ground-breaking veterinary techniques that are directly transferred to wild veterinary teams, and engaging audiences and inspiring the conservationists of tomorrow.
As we head closer to our landmark 200th birthday, ZSL will evolve once again. Our vision, a world where wildlife thrives, is underpinned by a simple purpose: To inspire, inform and empower people to stop wild animals going extinct.
Western Lowland gorilla, Mjukuu, with baby Gernot in the Gorilla Kingdom exhibit at ZSL London Zoo.
We will focus our efforts on conservation and science on two key areas where we see exceptional pressure on wildlife, and believe that our expertise, credibility and skill – coupled with our two inspiring zoos – can have significant impact and influence: wildlife health, and the troubled relationship between wildlife and humans.
This year saw the media highlight the devastating impact single-use plastics are having on our planet, an issue we have been addressing globally for many years. While Sir David Attenborough, a ZSL Honorary Fellow, and his Dynasties documentary showed us the continuing challenges wildlife face across the world.
Sir David Attenborough at ZSL London Zoo (c) ZSL
It is issues such as these that are at the very heart of our work. This month alone at least ten tigers will be killed for illegal wildlife trade, today three rhinos will be killed for their horns and every 25 minutes an elephant is killed for its tusks. Many of these species are in danger of going extinct in our lifetime, something we are working incredibly hard to prevent by supporting rural communities to live side-by-side with their native wildlife through appeals such as our For People. For Wildlife. fundraising campaign.
Our cherished zoos will continue to be shared spaces of wonder, taking inspiration from the surprise and astonishment of a fun childhood visit. We’ll keep that front-of-mind as we develop these powerful public engagement platforms to inspire, inform and empower people through innovative and thoughtful new opportunities to see animals.
Asiatic lion at ZSL London Zoo (c)ZSL
All of our conservation projects, engagement with communities across the world, school education programmes, ground-breaking science and zoos are funded by our zoo visitors, patrons, incredible individual donors and corporate partners – none of this would be possible without these passionate supporters.
Working together, we can create a world where wildlife thrives; to find out how you can support us, please visit zsl.org to learn more.
Exclusive offer for Monaco Life readers – if you sign up as a Patron of ZSL before the 15th January 2020 you will receive an out of hours tour of London Zoo. Find out more about the exciting benefits of being a Patron and sign up https://www.zsl.org/support-us/patrons (select Monaco Life in the ‘How did you hear about us?’ section).
Top photo: James Wren (c) ZSL
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