Top photo: Artcurial auction at the Hermitage Hotel, courtesy Artcurial
Read also: Inside Artcurial’s winter auction
Winter auction brings in over €6 million
Day: 21 January 2020
Monaco’s ‘Healthy School’ objective
The government has revealed that Monegasque schools are conducting regular medical screenings of students with the aim of detecting certain disorders early enough to help make a difference.
The examinations, carried out by the Department of Health Action (DACA), have been found to be an effective way of identifying, and therefore managing, problems or disorders in school children. Children are not always able to explain or verbalise problems themselves, nor do they even always know a problem exists in the first place.
These exams are a stopgap for the school system to recognise certain issues in children from kindergarten all the way through secondary, including developmental, learning or medical, and are intended to help children have the most successful school experience possible.
If a problem is found, the Principality’s health promotion policy supports students who have specific physical or mental special needs.
“Early detection is essential, because school is often the first gateway to preventive medicine for the well-being of students,” said Didier Gamerdinger, Minister of Social Affairs and Health.
The routine checks include screenings for sight, hearing, dental and somatic issues, psychological or behavioural disorders, signs of mental distress, growth and development issues, vaccination records, detection of language disorders in kindergarten-aged students, monitoring of students with known disabilities, and the general collection of statistical data with regard the overall health of the school population.
In addition to the regularly scheduled check-ups, DACA provides links between families, teaching staff, school psycho-social workers and doctors, offering exams on request for students who they suspect may need extra care or assistance.
What to do with the kids this winter
On Wednesday 22 January from 2pm to 3.30pm is the Magicians’ Secrets show starring Triton. This activity is for children aged 7 and over.
From 2pm to 3.30pm on Wednesday 29 January is an Introduction to music class, hosted by Oxaï Roura for children over 5.
For football lovers, the Grand FIFA 2020 Tournament will be held on Wednesday 5 February from 2pm to 6pm. Kids 7 and older are welcome to join in.
On Wednesday 12 February from 2pm to 3pm, 6 and overs can join in on a wellness session, and again on Wednesday 26 February, from 2.30pm to 3.30pm for those 3+.
And on Monday 17 and Tuesday 18 February from 2.30 pm to 4.30 pm, Benoît Perruchon hosts an aged 7+ chocolate workshop that even the parents will want to be a part of.
Thursday 20 February from 2.30pm to 5pm kids over 8 can show their skills at a video game tournament.
‘Read me a Story!’, a fun activity for the little ones, aged 3 and older, will be on Friday 21 February at 10am.
Monday 24 and Tuesday 25 February will feature a comic strip workshop from 2.30pm to 4.30pm. Kids 8 and over are encouraged to join.
Kids 8 and older can come check out motorised Lego Technic models on Friday 28 February from 2.30pm to 4.30pm.
The Ludothèque is offering a ‘four-hands workshop’ for parents and children on Wednesday 19 February and Wednesday 26 February from 10am to 11am is. Kids aged 3 and over are welcome.
The Bibliothèque Louis Notari has some a games evening on Friday 21 February, at 7pm for kids from 8 to 88.
Finally, the Sonothèque José Notari is hosting the Popcorn Cinema for Kids surprise movie on Thursday 27 February at 2.30pm for kids 6 and over.
For more information, call the Bibliothèque Princesse Caroline on +377 93 15 22 72/74, the Ludothèque on +377 93 15 22 72/74, the Bibliothèque Louis Notari on +377 93 15 29 40 and the Sonothèque José Notari on +377 93 30 64 48.
Father Dominique-Marie David, new Archbishop of Monaco
Pope Francis has appointed Father Dominique-Marie David to succeed Bernard Barsi as Archbishop of Monaco.
The Vatican made the announcement on Tuesday 21st January a little after midday. Until then, it had remained a closely guarded secret.
Born 21st September 1963 in Beaupréau, in the Diocese of Angers, France, Father Dominique-Marie David attended the Catholic University of West Angers, where he obtained a BA in English Philology.
He was then an English teacher, before joining the Emmanuel community. Becoming a seminarian in the interdiocesan seminary of Saint-Paul de Louvain-la-Neuve, in Belgium, he obtained a baccalaureate in theology from the benches of the Catholic University of Louvain.
Ordained a priest on 29th June 1991 for the diocese of Nantes, he has had a rich career, which notably led him to occupy the function of rector of the Church of the Trinité-des-Monts in Rome from 2016 to 2019.
Bishop David’s episcopal ordination will take place on Sunday 8th March 2020 at 3.30pm in the Notre Dame Immaculate Cathedral of Monaco.
Germany awards press prize to Prince
Prince Albert II has been awarded the German ‘Press Freedom Prize’ in recognition of his commitment to the protection of the environment.
Prince Albert travelled to the Ludwig Erhard Summit in Tegernsee on 17th January where he received the Freiheitsprise der Medien – Press Freedom Prize. Organised by the Weimer Media Group (WMG), the event honours public figures who are committed to freedom of expression, and rewarded Monaco’s Sovereign Prince for his decisive role in favour of Nature.
“Prince Albert II has engaged in the preservation of nature more than any head of state in recent years,” Thomas F. Hofmann, President of the Technical University of Munich, said in his speech.
The prize acknowledges the Prince’s action, notably through his foundation, in working “not only against pollution of the Ocean, against global warming caused by industrial emissions, or even against melting ice in the polar regions, but which also continually draws our attention to the protection of biodiversity, the promotion of renewable energies and access to water,” said Thomas F. Hofmann. “The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, which he created in 2006, is considered worldwide as a flagship initiative for the preservation of the environment. These numerous initiatives and successes have made you today a respected international figure in the fight for environmental protection.”
In accepting the award, Prince Albert spoke of the close link which unites the protection of our Planet and freedom of the press, saying: “at the heart of the environmental fight there is indeed a requirement of truth, a truth which is first of all scientific and which must reach us, even if it disturbs in the need for change, which it highlights. This is why freedom of information, in the field of the environment, is a requirement, but it can also be a struggle, a fight based on this freedom of the media but which must also mobilise each one of us.”
Photo credits © WMG