Prince Pierre Foundation announces 2020 conference season

The Prince Pierre Foundation has an exciting lineup of conferences and events for 2020 featuring a writer, a choreographer, a director, an historian and a philosopher.
This year, the Foundation is honouring artists, cultural trend-makers and historians to share their experiences and provoke conversations with audiences. In 2020, the foundation will continue with its ‘Outside the walls’ series, where they will host two events away from the Principality, the first in Rome and the second in Paris.
But the first meeting of the year takes place right here at home with American author and illustrator Susie Morgenstern. On 20th January, she will be at the Variety Theatre from 6:30pm speaking about her passion for writing, drawing and entertaining children with over 40 books in her long career. She is considered to be one of the most popular kid’s writers in Europe, particularly in her adopted country of France, where she has spent most of her adult life.
The next event is also at the Variety Theatre at 6:30pm, this time with famed choreographer Jean-Christophe Maillot, Director of the Monte-Carlo Ballet, who will be  interviewed by journalist and sociologist Laura Cappelle. Some of the topics touched on will be Maillot´s love of collaboration as well as the root and motivation for his endeavors. He will open up his own personal and professional transitions over his years as a choreographer, as well as where he finds inspiration for his ideas and the evolution of those ideas. Audiences will get an inside glimpse at one of the dance world’s most celebrated talents.
Arnaud Desplechin is next up on 23rd March at the Variety Theatre at 6:30pm. This acclaimed director will chat with film critic Jacques Kermabon, discussing the challenges and rewards of crafting a film, from the first frame shot to the last second edited. Using extracts from his films as an example, he will illustrate how a director works with his actors, settings, and places to evoke emotion and suck viewers into a world only found on celluloid.
The first of the ‘Outside the walls’ events will take place in Rome on 8th April at 6:30pm at the Monaco Embassy in Rome. The talk, given by historian Georges Vigarello, focuses on Prince Albert I and his early 20th century push for creating modern hygienic standards and his promotion and development of safe, healthy and clean practices for people and industry, concepts that were way ahead of his time and still resonate today.
This will be followed up in June by the second of the two meetings being held away from Monaco. Philosopher and philologist Barbara Cassin will explore the world of language, languages and translation at the Institute of Paleontology in Paris on 10th June at 8pm. She offers her own personal insights and her pleasure in translating poetry and philosophical works from their native tongues to other ones.
 
 

AS Monaco says goodbye to beloved trainer

For the last decade, AS Monaco’s goalies have been under the watchful eye of coach André Amitrano. This week, they say goodbye to the dedicated 62-year old who has decided to take early retirement ahead of his contract ending in June.

Though Amitrano, affectionately known as Dédé, has been goalkeeping coach since 2009, his history with the Red and Whites goes back to 1977, when he was recruited at age 19 from amateur football club US Cannes-la-Bocca. 

He was second string goalie for Monaco until 1982, the year he was part of the Championship team of France, when he moved across town to OCG Nice, playing there until 1988, then on to AS Cannes until 1994. After nearly 300 games, he retired from playing and embarked on his second career as coach, where he worked with goalkeepers from Valencia, Rennes and Guingamp. 

In 2009, Dédé returned to Monaco, remaining faithful to the team despite ups and downs, including a slide into Ligue 2 in 2011 and the reinstatement to Ligue 1 in 2013. He has outlasted five head coaches in his tenure and has coached stars such as Benjamin Lecomte, Stéphane Ruffier and Daniel Subasic, who was goalie for the Croatian National Team in 2018 when they reached the finals for the World Cup.  

His out of the box training methods proved successful over the years and earned him the love and respect from his players. AS Monaco has wished him well on his next steps and sadly say goodbye to a consummate professional.

 

Photo: AS Monaco Official 
 

Flights diverted from Iranian and Iraqi airspace

International airlines are cancelling or changing the routes of flights scheduled to fly over the Middle East in the wake of retaliatory strikes by Iran on two Iraqi military bases housing US troops. The attacks on the bases were reprisals for a US bombing attack that killed General Qasem Soleimani last week.

Mounting tensions between the US and Iran are making it increasingly hard for airlines to fly over the Middle East. With vast swaths already out of bounds due to war or political unrest, the current situation has blocked even more airspace.

Major carriers such as Air France, Malaysia Airlines, and EVA Air have reported they will steer clear of the airspace over both countries, whilst Singapore Airlines has stated they will not fly over Iran.  

The United States Federal Aviation Administration has curtailed commercial flights flying over both countries and has additionally restricted flying over the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf. Russian authorities have followed suit.

These restrictions mean not only inconvenience for the pilots, but also cost airlines money. Added kilometres flown to avoid hot spots means higher jet fuel costs, an expense which typically gets passed onto passengers.  

Just hours before the ban was announced, a Ukrainian International Airlines flight crashed after taking off from Tehran’s airport, with an estimated 176 passengers and crew aboard. More than 80 Iranians and over 60 Canadians are reported dead, according to official sources in Ukraine.

The cause of the crash is as yet undetermined, with some speculation that it was due to technical malfunctions. The website for the Ukrainian Embassy in Iran posted earlier that terrorist attacks were not ruled out but has since removed the post.

 

 

Bonnal awarded highest honour

Isabelle Bonnal, Director of National Education, Youth and Sports, has been designated a Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honour.
HSH Prince Albert II and several high-ranking officials from the Principality were present as the Ambassador of France to Monaco, Laurent Stefanini, bestowed the decoration to Ms Bonnal. He stated that this distinction is the “reward of eminent recognised merits in the service of common good.”
Ms Bonnal made a heartfelt speech praising both her home and adopted countries.
“I have no certainties, but of the humanist values ​​that Monaco and France share. […] The French Republic paid tribute this evening to my adopted country and to my heart, to the Sovereign Prince and to the actions that he was able to define with ambition and requirement, as well as to the Prince’s Government that I am honoured to serve”.
The Legion of Honour is the highest French order of merit and is given for exemplary military or civil service. Created by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802, it has stood the test of time as the reigning honour given by the Republic.
To receive a Knighthood, one must have a minimum of 20 years public service or 25 years of professional activity with flawless performance in one’s trade or occupation.
PHOTO: gouv.mc/ Around HSH the Sovereign Prince, Serge Telle, Minister of State, Isabelle Bonnal, Director of National Education, Youth and Sports, Nicolas Bonnal, brother of the Director and Laurent Stefanini, Ambassador of France in the Principality of Monaco – © Directorate of Communication – Michael Alesi
 
 

Ministers take in multi-million euro plant progress

The government has visited the site of the €32 million wastewater plant in Fontvielle, a key element of the Principality’s sustainable development policy.
The Minister of State Serge Telle and various delegates visited the Waste Water Treatment Plant (UTER), which is still under construction, on Tuesday 7th January.
The Monaco plant not only treats the Principality’s wastewater but also a wider catchment area including Beausoleil and part of the Cap d’Ail and Turbie territories.
The factory is located in the heart of the Fontvieille district in ‘Le Triton’, an industrial building of 10 levels, built in the immediate vicinity of the Urban and Industrial Waste Incineration Plant.
As part of the renewal of the SMEAUX public service concession contract, signed in 2015, extension work had been planned on the UTER to increase its processing capacity by 30% and to cope with changes in flows in the years to come.
The work required the removal of the two parking levels of the Triton and the installation of advanced and innovative technology called MBBR (Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor). This biological treatment makes it possible to meet the most demanding discharge standards.

©Direction de la Communication – Michael Alesi

The safety aspect of the site was particularly taken into account during all the work. In order to treat the volumes of additional stale air, an activated carbon deodorisation was implemented. Although the site is 80% complete, the purification performance has already been achieved in the majority of cases.
The completion of the works is estimated for the month of September 2020, ahead of the initial schedule set at the end of the year.
The project, worth € 32 million, was funded half by the State and SMEaux. According to the government, it is important that wastewater is treated in Monaco in the most efficient way possible, despite the space constraints in which the factory is located – serving as a model of integration in an urban environment.
 
Top photo: Serge Telle, Minister of State, accompanied by Marie-Pierre Gramaglia, Government Counselor-Minister of Equipment, Environment and Town Planning as well as Frédéric Van Heems, Managing Director of Veolia Eau France and Olivier Grunberg, Deputy Chairman of the Société Monégasque des Eaux, during the UTER visit © Communication Department – Michael Alesi
 
 

ISM hosts talks for parents

Parents and the wider community in Monaco are invited to attend a talk on internet safety, hosted by the International School of Monaco, this Friday. It is the first of a series of talks organised by the school on important themes which affect us all.    
The new school term is kicking off with an informative talk and discussion on internet safety in English by Nick Danziger, of Action Innocence, and psychologist Cédric Forino.
With an explosion in the use of smartphones, apps and social media, and the increasing pressure on ever-younger people to connect, it has never been more important to understand what your children are doing online, how to help them use the internet safely, and responsible use of social media.
This event is open to all parents of school age children and will be held at the ISM Cafeteria, 16 quai Antoine 1er, from 8.45am to 10am on Friday 10th January. Refreshments will be served.
Another important and informative talk entitled ‘Teenagers Translated’ will follow on Wednesday 29th January, with guidance on coping with the particular challenges facing teens. Led by the authors of the successful book ‘Teenagers Translated’, Janey Downshire and Naella Grew, who also have extensive experience in counselling, the talk (second of a three part series) will focus on anxiety, stress, eating disorders and drug/alcohol abuse along with over-dependence on technology. The session will focus on how parents can help their child develop a sense of self and provide coping strategies. There will also be time for questions. It will also be held at the ISM Cafeteria at 8.45am.
For more information,  contact lindsay.wright@ismonaco.com 
 
Top photo: Pixabay.com