To celebrate the 2020 International Monaco Circus Festival, YellowKorner Monte Carlo hosted a cocktail reception to present ‘The Show Must Glow On’ exhibition by street artist Dario Vella.
Friends, guests and art lovers had the opportunity to meet the talented artist and talk about the collection ‘The Show Must Glow On’, which includes paintings that present the lights and animals of a circus show. Dario Vella, street artist, Leonidas Kambanis, Managing Director YellowKorner Monte Carlo
Guests also had the unique opportunity to watch a live performance from Dario Vella and receive a personalised signed copy of the exhibition catalogue.
“We are proud and excited about hosting the art collection of Dario Vella in the YellowKorner Monte Carlo,” said Leonidas Kambanis, Managing Director of YellowKorner Monte Carlo. “Our gallery, which opened its doors a few months ago, proves to be an elegant modern exhibition venue while keeping up with the tradition of the brand.” YellowKorner is a publisher of accessible art, offering photography in limited editions, exhibiting and commercialising the art of photographs of more than 200 artists. YellowKorner promotes talents through a network of more than 100 galleries worldwide.
Monaco’s Irina Peterson has embarked on the first leg of her adventure of a lifetime and is bringing Monaco Life readers updates on her incredible journey to help save the Oceans.
Via my Ocean Amazon platform, I aim to raise awareness of the fragility of our marine life, the ocean’s role in regulating climate and therefore the impact on our lives. Another goal is to inspire women to love and navigate the oceans, having an important presence in the sailing world, and a pivotal role as global agents of change.
I will be the only representative of the Principality of Monaco on-board eXXpedition voyages and as such, giving a voice to the HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation’s environmental concerns and solution-based projects. I departed on 02.02.2020, the first stage of my Ocean Amazon project taking me to Galapagos where I will be volunteering with Charles Darwin Foundation and documenting various environmental challenges on the islands. Setting sails on 15th February in the Galapagos with the eXXpedition vessel, I will be navigating and researching with the rest of the female crew until arriving in Easter Island on 4th of March. Irina Peterson with Olivier Wenden, Vice President of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation
My love for the oceans was ignited in childhood, when I discovered Jacques-Yves Cousteau’s documentaries. Despite a tiny black and white TV at home, I was mesmerised by the underwater “Silent World”. The legendary explorer became an inspiration and I went on to dive and sail in many diverse places as my love for the ocean grew immensely. For this gift, I will be forever grateful and it is now time to pay it forward.
I hope that my Ocean Amazon documentary will be able to inspire younger generations to love and protect our oceans and the environment in general.
2020 brings with it a society that is slowly but surely waking up to the reality and scale of the plastic problem and damage to our oceans and our lives. That’s why, more than ever, the accumulation of new data by scientific exploration is crucial. The Ocean Amazon documentary presents a golden opportunity to travel through the eye of the South Pacific Gyre and assess the most current status of the garbage patch.
Although photographic images and research on the South Pacific Garbage Patch exist, never before has a film team had the opportunity to be at the heart of such an operation. The contribution to the scientific world and the viewers of this film will be unique perspectives of discovery through the skilful eyes of two great cinematographers going above, and below.
I am an imperfect human and an imperfect activist. But I am learning, and I promise that I’m going to continue to try my best. I truly believe that what the world needs right now is not a handful of perfect people being the perfect solution. We need 7.5 billion people, imperfect like me and you, willing to try our best each day – when we can, how we can, where we can, and in all the ways we can to take more responsibility for our actions that impact the environment. You can follow my voyage and mission on: Facebook: @oceanamazone Instagram: @oceanamazon Day 0: The journey begins, 0202-2020
Many people have asked me why I chose this day to start? It’s because I wanted it to be special, very special, so that we will all remember. 02-02-2020 is a palindromic date – when a date written out numerically is the same when turned back-to-front. No matter your culture and how you write the date, it will be the same: mm/dd/yyyy or dd/mm/yyyy or yyyymmdd. It happens once in the millenium (Until 03-03-3030)
This date is also a very unique and powerful day. Named Imbolc Day, or Purification Day, it is the midpoint between the Soltstice and Equinox, and is a celebration of Mother Earth. And that’s what this date is about, the start of a great “purification”, of our oceans and planet. Because everything starts with the first step in the right direction. The mission of my voyage and research is to raise awareness about the state of our oceans and also raise our consciousness to make changes in our every day life to be kinder to the environment. So let’s celebrate this purification, promise of renewal, of infinite potential, of Earth awakening and the life force stirring. It is time to let go of the past and to look to the future, clearing out the old, the pollution and plastic garbage and feel empowered of all we can achieve!
Survey data on the health of leading economies kicks off the week, with the final January purchasing managers’ index (PMI) readings from China, the eurozone, the UK and the US.
China’s Caixin and the US IHS Markit PMI data have both indicated that the two economies have managed to keep expanding. With the recent improvement in trade talks, the final data will reveal if growth can be furthered. With regards to the US, the Institute for Supply Management readings will be closely watched after they signalled contraction in manufacturing in recent months.
The PMI data will reinforce whether the UK has experienced a post-election bounce in manufacturing and services activity, as the flash PMI indicated, and if the eurozone continues to show signs of recovery (albeit from a contracting manufacturing base) in the midst of easing global trade tensions.
In the eurozone, the consumer has managed to keep the economy afloat. December retail sales data on the Wednesday will show if consumption strengthened in the run-up to Christmas, after 2.2% year-on-year growth in November.
Ending the week is the January non-farm payrolls data in the US. While the unemployment rate remained at noticeably low levels in December at 3.5% and real earnings remain positive, the non-farm payroll number disappointed in December at 145,000, especially given the revising lower of employment readings in prior months.
January trade data from China is also on Friday. The data will reveal the impact on the country’s export-heavy economy of a recent de-escalation in trade wars with the US and the signing of the “phase-one” deal. December’s trade surplus was revised up $0.5bn to $47.2 bn.
Climate change: time for investors to evolve
The last decade was the warmest since records began in 1850 and projections anticipate that temperatures will get hotter still.
Climate change has become a priority for many financiers, business leaders and politicians alike. For instance, climate change is a focus topic at this month’s World Economic Forum in Davos. However, solutions to one of the world’s most pressing challenges may not be emerging fast enough.
The increase in average temperatures is the primary indicator of climate change and driver of many of its effects. Since 1850, 17 of the warmest years on record have occurred in the last 18 years. The world is on average one degree Celsius hotter than it was between 1850 and 1900 (see chart). An increase of one additional degree to average annual temperatures is seen as the threshold to “severe, widespread, and irreversible” effects of a climate breakdown.
In addition to the temperature record, ocean temperatures last year were the highest on record – leading to more ocean acidification, sea-level rise and extreme weather. Both of these measures indicate that the “climate crisis” has reached a new level and rapid measures are needed to speed up the process of cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
With climate seemingly inevitable in an uncertain world, investors can no longer disregard the risks when making investment decisions. Industries and companies working towards reducing the impact of climate change, accelerating energy transition and improving infrastructure are likely to profit the most from increased spending and accommodative policy measures focused around climate change.
For more information contact Barclays Private Bank in Monaco by clicking here or on +377 93 15 35 35
The Monaco Ocean Protection Challenge is once again looking for students to come up with most creative awareness campaigns about the threats to our oceans.
Organised by the Oceanographic Institute, Monaco Impact and the International University of Monaco (IUM), the Monaco Ocean Protection Challenge is looking for students with entrepreneurial spirit who want to contribute to ocean protection through innovative ideas.
This year, the competition has expanded from an IUM only event to include participants from other universities.
Two types of challenges are on the table. The first, called the Entrepreneurial Challenge, invites budding impresarios to draw up a “we mean business plan” that includes an innovative or technology focused service or product that could be used to positively impact the sea.
The second is the Corporate Challenge, which is being touted as a “party without balloons”. This asks challengers to come up with a communication campaign to make the public aware of the dangers of balloons to the oceans and asking to replace them when celebrating events with more eco-friendly options.
On 1st April, the six finalists will be announced.
From there, finalists will have one month to prepare their presentations and will receive the help of professionals from Monaco Impact to achieve their goals. A jury panel will review all the presentations and select a winner from each category. The winners will be given seed funding and support from experts and businesspeople to help them turn their ideas into realities. Additionally, the winners of the Corporate Challenge will have a chance at a six month internship and the Oceanographic Museum in order to implement their project.
Challengers must be university students who form two-three person teams and can present their projects in English. Registration is open on www.monaco-opc.com/join-contact/
The 10,000 metre World Champion Joshua Cheptegei has confirmed he will be racing in this year’s 5km Herculis race next month.
The Ugandan runner will be joined by two other world-class racers, Frenchman Jimmy Gressier, who holds the European second place record for the 10km, and Liv Westphal, who is the current women’s French record holder for the 10km and 5,000m indoor races.
These athletes are looking to break the records established just last year by Sifan Hassan and Julien Wanders.
The two-day event covers four races. On 15th February, the 1000m series races will be held between the Route de la Piscine and the Quai Albert 1er. Entry is open to runners aged 8 and up of all levels and the races start at 12:30pm.
On Sunday the 16th, in addition to the 5 km Herculis run, which starts at 10:15am, a 10km ‘City Trail’ run will be held, giving runners a chance to explore the streets and trails of Monaco, including a challenging climb up to the top of the Rock. The race begins at 8:30am sharp.
Last but not least, the Pink Ribbon Charity Walk for breast cancer awareness, now in its ninth year, will also be held. Participants are asked to dress in pink and be ready to go at 10am from the Running Expo.
Runners are asked to pick up their racing bibs from the Running’s Expo from 10am to 5pm on Saturday the 15th. All races start at Port Hercule. Registration is possible on site Saturday, as well as online at www.fma.mc
After three and a half years, Brexit is finally a reality. So what does that mean for travellers going to and from the UK?
The British government has revealed that come the end of 2020, UK travellers may be facing some tiresome changes when it comes to travel to the European Union.
Whilst nothing is set in stone as of yet, the UK has made fairly clear their stand and are advising citizens what travel will look like after the transition period is over on 31st December 2020.
The government website issued guidelines for travel and things UK travellers have not had to consider since 1973 are now back in play. No longer will British travellers be allowed to use the passport control lanes designated for the EU, meaning they face potential longer waits, and passports with less than six months validity could be denied, as well as passports older than 10 years.
“Roam like you’re at home” may no longer be applicable, leaving travellers with potential skyrocketing mobile phone costs whilst on the continent. Motorists will need to acquire special certificates to extend their insurance coverage, international driver’s licenses may be required, and European Health Insurance Cards (EHIC) may no longer be valid. This is particularly important for those with pre-existing conditions, as the EHIC covers these, but many travel insurance providers do not.
Travelling with pets will also be more complicated, as the EU pet passports will no longer be binding. The government is recommending pet owners plan up to four months in advance if they are considering bringing Fido on holiday.
There are talks that the UK could sidestep some of the travel headaches by being part of the new European Travel Information and Authorisation System, a waiver system similar to ESTA in the United States, where for a small fee, passengers from the UK can be pre-screened avoiding the necessity for visas, but the chances that the system will be up and running by year’s end are slim. Additionally, the UK being part of this system, is dependent on reciprocal preferential treatment given to EU citizens travelling to the UK.
Though the chance does still exist that frictionless travel will continue between the EU and the UK, the signs at present are not pointing in that direction. UK travellers should brace themselves for long lines and more hassles.
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