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Day: 12 October 2021

Watch the preview: Alick and Albert

by: Cassandra Tanti
12/10/2021

In an unlikely friendship, the Prince of Monaco and an artist from the Torres Strait have united in a captivating new documentary film to help fight climate change and protect the ocean.
The two live on opposite sides of the planet, but ‘Alick and Albert’, as the film is called, are both driven by their ancestor’s legacies and a personal commitment to the ocean.
They met in 2016 at the Taba Naba exhibition of Aboriginal and Oceanic art at the Oceanographic Museum in Monaco, where Alick Tipoti’s work was being featured. “One day, maybe you can come and visit my island,” the acclaimed artist and activist said to Prince Albert at the time.
Alick and his family live on remote Badu Island in the Torres Strait, just off Queensland, Australia, and it was an invitation that the widely-travelled Prince couldn’t refuse. “When I was presented with an oral invitation, I thought it was wonderful,” Prince Albert reveals in the documentary.
That visit, and the power of art to connect individuals, forge friendships and initiate change, has been documented in this new feature for cinema, directed by Douglas Watkin and produced by Trish Lake of Freshwater Pictures. It will have its world premier at the Brisbane International Film Festival on 22nd October.
In a trailer, we see Prince Albert arriving on the island in a small twin engine plane. “I think the main thing is, make him fit in, make him be like one of us,” says one of the women. “He is going to be a local boy, Prince Albert II.”
The film includes the stories of the Badulgal people of Badu and the Monegasque people of Monaco, and it was part of a mission led by Monaco Explorations. It highlights a way of life that is threatened with every tide. “Our water is getting warmer faster than the global warming,” says a man to his community.
“It is hard to see the large sea creatures dead,” says another islander. “It’s not our fault.”
Prince Albert said his friendship with Alick Tipoti “just flowed very naturally”, adding, “this connection between art, science and nature embodied by Alick is simply remarkable.”
The documentary will also be screened at the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair on 17th November and has been selected for the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, as well as the St. Tropez and Cannes Cinéphiles Cinéma des Antipodes. A Monaco showing of the documentary is yet to be communicated.
See the trailer for Alick and Albert below…

 
 
 
 

Monaco teens above EU average for drug and alcohol use

by: Stephanie Horsman
12/10/2021

IMSEE has published a report on substance use among teens and it shows that, despite a decline in tabacco use, vaping, cannabis and sports betting remain problematic in Monaco.

The European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) and the Monegasque Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (IMSEE) have completed complementary studies looking at consumption of psychoactive products and other habits, such as tobacco usage, social media participation and gambling, in 16-year-olds in 35 European countries, and for IMSEE, specifically in Monaco.

The ESPAD report was based on studies conducted in 2019, and the IMSEE follow up was done in 2020.

The report, for the most part, found that school children 16-years of age in Monaco exhibited a decline in most consumption indicators based on previous years, notably when it came to the regular use of tobacco. But on the whole, they displayed levels that were above the European average. In the case of alcohol experimentation, vaping, cannabis use, sports betting for cash and social network usage, children in the Principality were well above average.

That being said, Monaco’s 16-year-olds are amongst the lowest in terms of daily cigarette smoking and heavy occasional alcoholism, also known as “binge drinking”.

The sample group in Monaco for the report consisted of 428 students.

With regard to experimentation and regular use of tobacco, the Principality has seen a steep drop since 2011 when experimentation was at 63% of those surveyed and regular use was at 38%. By 2019, those numbers decreased to 45% and 20% respectively, which coincide roughly with the European averages. Daily tobacco use has dropped from a 2011 high of 23% to 8% today, 2% below the European average.

E-cigarettes are a different story. 66% of boys and 60% of girls admitted to experimental vaping and 42% of boys and 41% of girls say they had used e-cigarettes during the course of the month they were interviewed, putting Monaco at the high end of the average.

The findings also revealed that Monaco’s 16-year-olds experimented with alcohol at a higher level than the rest of Europe with 89% saying they had tried it, versus 80% in Europe on the whole. Regular drinking was only slightly above the average with 54% against Europe’s 48%. Binge drinking though, is not as prevalent in Monaco as in most of the rest of Europe. Only six countries fared better in this category, while 27% of the kids surveyed said they drank this way in the month preceding the questionnaire.

Experimental cannabis smoking in Monaco amongst this age group was found to be only marginally higher than in other parts of Europe at 22% versus 16%. Regular marijuana smokers made up only 12% of those surveyed in the Principality, slightly above Europe’s 7%.

Children trying out drugs other than cannabis were quite a small proportion. Only 6% admitted to experimenting with other illegal substances, which is in line with the European average of 5%. That being said, the percentage of students at risk of becoming dependant on marijuana in Monaco are amongst the highest on the continent.

As far as gambling goes, Monaco’s kids are above average overall, but below in most specific areas such as slot machines, cards, dice games and lotteries. Monegasque 16-year-olds are generally betting on sports at a far higher proportion, though, with 54% saying they participate in this activity, as opposed to Europe’s 45%. They are roughly the same when it comes to internet gambling.

Not surprisingly, 97% of the Monaco students surveyed say they use social media every day for at least a half an hour. This went up to 99% during school holidays. Most European countries results were close to these figures, placing Monaco a bit artificially at the top of the list for usage.

 
 
Photo source: Unsplash
 
 
 

MEB strengthens ties with Antwerp

by: Cassandra Tanti
12/10/2021

A delegation of a dozen entrepreneurs headed by the Monaco Economic Board (MEB) has taken part in a trade mission to Antwerp, Europe’s second largest port and the world capital of diamonds.
The trade mission in September opened with a dinner in the neogothic setting of the old trade exchange, Handelsbeurs, attended by Monaco Ambassador to Belgium Isabelle Berro-Amadeï  and Belgium’s Consul in Monaco Nancy Dotta-Van Tendeloo, also from Antwerp. During the evening, various speakers including Michel Dotta and Guillaume Rose for the MEB had a chance to highlight the advantages of doing business in the Principality to an audience of stakeholders and high-ranking figures in the Flemish city, most of whom were invited by Guy Van Doosselaere, Monaco’s Honorary Consul in Antwerp. Before the dinner, a cocktail provided the ideal setting for Monegasque companies to make their first contacts.
The main agenda took place the next day at the port of Antwerp, Europe’s second largest, where the delegation was hosted by the port authorities and toured several sites. They included Euroports, a subsidiary of the Monaco Resources Group which has several terminals and symbolises new trade relations between the two countries.
At the business forum organised on site, the MEB signed a cooperation agreement with the CBL-ACP Chamber of Commerce that will strengthen ties with Belgium and other regions in the world, notably Africa. CEMA (Club des Entrepreneurs Monégasques en Afrique) was also on the trip, represented by its President Fréderic Geerts who also signed an agreement. This was followed by targeted meetings between around 60 Monegasque and Flemish entrepreneurs, mainly but not exclusively on trade and logistics. In the evening, a dinner hosted by Mrs Berro-Amadeï was another chance to exchange business cards in a privileged setting.
On the Thursday there was an opportunity to visit the Antwerp World Diamond Centre through which all diamonds processed or sold in Antwerp pass through, that’s around 86% of the world’s rough diamonds and 50% of its polished stones. Initial analysis of the debriefing lunch which concluded the trip was very positive, highlighting the desire of companies in Monaco to conquer new markets.
The MEB is not resting on its laurels with the upcoming Dubai Expo20 when several sector-specific missions are planned. Another trip is also scheduled to St Petersburg in the first half of 2022.
 
 
 
Monaco Life with press release, photo source MEB
 
 

Monaco celebrates Empress Eugenie

by: Stephanie Horsman
12/10/2021

A bust of Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III and Empress of France, has been unveiled by the Prince in Monaco to commemorate the centenary of her death.
Prince Albert II was joined by Prince Jean-Christophe Napoleon and his wife Olympia von Arco-Zinneberg to unveil the statue on Saturday 9th in the gardens above Fort Antoine. The date marks a double anniversary: the Empress’s death in 1920 and the passing of Prince Albert I just two years later in 1922.
The bust will face towards Roquebrune-Cap-Martin and Villa Cyrnos, a treasured home of the Empress in her later years. It was here that she formed a strong bond to the Principality, befriending Prince Albert I and becoming a regular fixture in the area.
Saturday’s event also gave the public an opportunity to get to know more about the Empress and her links to Monaco through a study session and lecture organised by the Empress Eugenie Commemoration Committee and the Souvenir Napoleonic Association. Researchers and experts of the Second Empire took part in the event at the Salle Garnier, a fitting location as it was Napoleon III who commissioned the construction of the building.
Eugenie was born into Spanish nobility and was educated in France, Spain and England. She was a champion of “authoritarian and clerical policies”, many of which made her unpopular with contemporaries, however she came to have an important influence on her husband’s foreign policy.
When her husband was deposed in 1870, the couple fled to England with their only child and lived in exile. Eugenie outlived both her husband and her son, dying at the age of 94 in Madrid.
 
 

Photo of Prince Albert II of Monaco, H.A.I. Prince Jean-Christophe Napoléon and his wife Olympia, posing in front of the bust of Empress Eugenie, by Michael Alesi/Communication Department

 
 
 

Culinary art meets floral flair at bouquet competition

by: Stephanie Horsman
12/10/2021

The Garden Club of Monaco is hosting the International Bouquets Competition at the Terrasses of the Monte-Carlo Casino, where participants will show off their floral skills to create stunning arrangements under the theme ‘Culinary Art in the World’.  

Chaired by Caroline, Princess of Hanover, the Garden Club of Monaco is hosting the 52nd edition of the International Bouquets Competition on 16th and 17th October.

The event is being held on the Terrasses du Casino de Monte-Carlo, where competitors will transform the already stunning venue into a wonderland of flower arrangements open to the public.

Two juries will vote on the masterpieces of ingenuity and creativity put forth. The first is a “special” jury chaired by the Princess of Hanover and the other is the official jury comprised of judges who are experts in floral arts.

Over a hundred competitors will take part in the event under the theme ‘Culinary Art in the World’, choosing one of six categories to work their magic with blooms and let their imaginations run wild.

The categories are ‘The Dishes’, which will comprise the signature plates of great chefs, gourmet compositions of flowers, fruits, vegetables, and plants; ‘Candlelight Hunt’ dinner table decorations; and a youth category for kids aged seven to 16 called ‘Street Food and Flowers’.

Additionally, there is the herbs and flavours of Provence classification, one of two categories creating large scale projects, that allows for a team of two to craft a garden paradise. The Tropical Cuisine category is the second that allows two floral artists to create scenes reminiscent of hot, sunny days and warm, balmy nights.

The public is invited to view the pieces both days. Saturday, doors are open from 5:30pm to 8pm and on Sunday from 10am to 6:30pm. Entry fee for adults is €5, children under 12 are free.

The Garden Club is a non-profit association that was created in 1968 by the late Princess Grace, a fan of roses who wanted to promote the art of flower arranging so people can better appreciate their beauty.
 
 
Photo by Kateryna Tyshkul on Unsplash