AS Monaco manager Nico Kovac dispelled any idea that his side would play for a draw during the pre-match press conference on Wednesday ahead of their crunch Europa League clash against La Liga high-fliers Real Sociead.
When questioned by Monaco Life about how he intended to approach the match given the strength of the opponent and the importance of not losing, Kovac made it glaringly clear that he would be gunning for a win. “It isn’t possible to play for a draw. Whenever you play for the draw it is difficult, so our ambition is to attack and to create chances to score and to win the game. If you play for a draw you are too passive, not active enough. From the first minute, we want to try to win the game.”
AS Monaco are faced with the daunting task of keeping Real Soceidad’s front-line quiet. The Spanish side, who currently sit second in La Liga and are only one point behind Real Madrid, have an arsenal of attacking talent at their disposal. David Silva’s creativity in the number 10 role will be a constant threat, whilst Alexander Isak’s physicality and athleticism will mean that he will be deserving special attention from the ASM defence. AS Monaco pre-match training at the Stade Louis II Wednesday evening, photo by Luke Entwistle for Monaco Life
It is therefore a relief that Monaco are able to once again call on Benoit Badiashile in defence who, along with Aleksandr Golovin, will return from suspension having had to sit out of Friday’s draw against Lille.
But unfortunately, Krépin Diatta, the scorer of ASM’s opening goal on Friday night who later went off injured, looks like being a lengthy absentee as he prepares for surgery on an anterior cruciate ligament injury. Reacting to the injury, Nico Kovac couldn’t give a return date for the Senegalese winger. “I am sad and disappointed to hear what is now a reality…It is going to be a long time, but no-one yet knows how long. We are going to miss him for some weeks and months. We are waiting for him, and hoping that he is back as soon as possible.”
AS Monaco are set to take on Real Soceidad at 9pm on Thursday at the Stade Louis II, and a win would secure qualification for ASM and see them progress to the much-coveted play-off phase of the competition.
The world watched aghast this week as the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, blundered a crucial speech to the CBI. As if mixing up his papers in the glare of the world’s press was not enough, what appeared to happen next was excruciating to watch. The Prime Minister seemed to freeze. The silence was deafening.
To compound this Greek-like tragedy, it seems the Prime Minister attempted to unfreeze himself by sharing details of his recent trip to Peppa Pig World. The CBI attendees looked unimpressed.
As a psychotherapist, I am not interested in the politics of the situation but in the meaning. What happened to Boris Johnson this week and what can the rest of us learn from his experience? The amygdala
In fancy terms, my best guess is that Boris Johnson suffered an “amygdala hijack”. It is a term coined by the psychologist Daniel Goleman in the 1990s. In less fancy terms, he was most likely overwhelmed with chronic stress.
The amygdala is part of the brain’s limbic system which regulates our emotional and behavioural responses. As well as storing all our pleasurable emotions, it prepares us for danger by activating our fight or flight response.
Back in pre-historic days, we had to be alert for predators. We were someone else’s dinner! Hence our bodies automatically developed a survival mechanism to prepare us for danger. When under threat, our bodies assessed the situation and informed us to fight or flee the oncoming predator. (As someone who is neither strong nor fast, I would not have survived long.)
The lesser known, involuntary retort to being threatened or under extreme stress is the freeze response. We might have played dead or hid from the predator chasing us.
In the Prime Minister’s case, it appears he involuntarily froze, presumably due to the stress of the situation or the accumulation of stress over recent times. In other words, he likely had a brain and body reaction to stress. Peppa Pig?
So why the Peppa Pig ramblings? (No offence to the Peppa Pig fans out there). Boris Johnson is known for creative rhetoric, but this seemed out of character.
Here’s the crux. Under extreme stress, all of us lose the capacity to think or act rationally. Back to my jargon – our pre-frontal cortex goes offline. This is the thinking part of our brain. As cortisol floods our brain, the only accessible part of our brain is the amygdala and specifically the fight, flight or freeze response. Whatever I do or say in the moment might not be logical or rational. Enter Peppa Pig, left stage.
In the work I do with addicts, the “amygdala hijack” is highly relevant. Addicts make decisions which they often come to regret. Sometimes those decisions have far-reaching consequences. So why do them? In the moments that they are high with their drug of choice, the only part of their brain that is functioning is the part which experiences pleasure. In their case, the dopamine rush has flooded the brain.
Have you ever wondered why certain public figures get caught in the most uncompromising situations? (Think of a former U.S. President or a famous world golfer or an iconic British 1980s pop star). The obvious question we ask ourselves when watching their jaw-dropping escapades on the nightly news is “what were they thinking?” The answer is they were not thinking rationally. Conclusion
The fight, flight or freeze response was handy when being chased by Barney the dinosaur but less useful in addressing a CBI conference. It turns out that our pre-historic brains were quite clever. We just don’t need to use them in the same way today. Hence therapists emphasise techniques such as slow breathing and mindfulness to combat stress and to avoid our bodies entering this default mode.
What happened to Boris Johnson can happen to any of us in a stressful situation. The key is to understand our stress triggers. That requires us to get better at recognising our emotions. Emotions are data. We need to stay attuned to our minds and bodies and avoid the fight, flight or freeze settings.
So, when you are next at the office and nervous about making that crucial presentation, or you are in a situation where you feel threatened or significantly stressed, acknowledge how your body feels. Do some mindful breathing. Slow down.
If you do find yourself rambling about the activities of Peppa Pig, at least you’ll know you are not the only one.
Gavin Sharpe is a UK qualified psychotherapist, relationship / psychosexual therapist and executive coach. The thoughts and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and not necessarily those of Monaco Life. Gavin Sharpe can be reached at www.rivierawellbeing.com.
Photo source: Shutterstock
New film campaign targeting signs of violent crime
A documentary-style film highlighting the signs to look for in a person being abused has been created in Monaco to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on Thursday 25th November.
The latest campaign from the Committee for the Promotion and Protection of Women’s Rights will be revealed on 25th November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
Entitled ‘Violence is something we must be aware of’, the campaign aims to raise public awareness of aggression against women and the fight against such behaviour. It also reminds people of the measures already in place in the Principality and the resources available to people who are being abused.
“Last year, we targeted violence within the household because it is the majority of cases,” said Céline Cottalorda, Interministerial Delegate for Women’s Rights. “This year, we want to give the keys to decipher the mechanisms of manipulation of the perpetrators and show that violence can take different forms: psychological, verbal, sexual, economic or physical.”
The movement emphasises awareness of violence on both sides of the situation, that of the victim and that of those closest to them who may not know what signs to look for. The message is clear: To escape violence, people must already be aware that they are dealing with it.
“On the basis of testimonies of victims, we realise that often the first signs of violence are hardly visible or that we do not want to see them, then there is a real hold that is being put in place of which it is very difficult to get out of,” says Ms Cottalorda.
The 2021 campaign is being rolled out with numerous acts. First, there will be a screening of a short film that will be premiered on the 25th on Monaco Info and social media networks. The film, made documentary-style, features nine women and shows the gradual stages of manipulation taking hold, escalating until more tragic situations occur.
Posters will also be displayed in town, notably at the Fontvieille Shopping Centre where stands will be set up on 26th November from 10am to 6pm. Those manning the stands will be able to answer questions about what to look for and where to get help.
State services including DASO and Public Security associated with AVIP receive, informing and supporting victims; SheCanHeCan and Fight Aids Monaco for the operation ‘No to violence’, inviting men to take action against violence by coming to have their picture taken at their booth; the Soroptimist Club, Aux cœurs des mots, Zonta Club Monaco and Women World Leaders Monaco will also welcome the public with stands.
Additional operations taking place concurrently include a poster campaign on buses by Women World Leaders Monaco, while the Zonta Club Monaco will install tarpaulins on public benches and shoes on the stairs of St Charles Church. Cashiers at Carrefour will wear a badge in orange, the colour of the movement, and, finally, the Prince’s Palace, National Council, Oceanographic Museum will be illuminated in orange on the evening of 25th November.
For more information on the event, visit www.dfm.mc. For those who suspect abuse or are the victims of violence, an anonymous and free hotline has been set up free and round the clock on 0800 91 90 10.
Photo: Céline Cottalorda surrounded by the actresses of the film by Manuel Vitali, Communication Department
Vroom Monaco showcases revolutionary South Korean start-ups
This year’s Vroom summit welcomed innovative, global-minded South Korean start-ups and Monaco Life delved in deeper with two of them: L-Base and its novel treatment for lung cancer, and Prinker with its revolutionary temporary tattoos.
The organisers of this year’s Vroom summit partnered up with KISED (Korea Institute of Start-up and Entrepreneurship Development), bringing together innovative South Korean companies with local investors. The aim: to facilitate the insertion of these start-ups into the European market.
Prior to their investment pitches on the first day of the summit, L-Base sat down with Monaco Life to discuss its exciting new cancer drug, which has the potential to completely revolutionise the way that the disease is treated. For Joe Kim, the managing director of L-Base, the desire to pursue this potentially life-saving project was simple: “There are so many lung cancer patients around the world, and in Europe alone there are 320,000 people that suffer every year and 2.2 million globally. Despite this, there aren’t really any effective solutions.”
Lung cancer, and cancers more generally, are lacking in effective treatments. They are often treated with chemotherapy, which, as Mr Kim points out, isn’t necessarily the safest or the most effective treatment: “Chemo is so deadly, people die from it. The problem with the targeted solution is that it causes so many side effects.”
This is where L-Base’s treatment comes to the fore, positing a viable alternative to chemotherapy. It is based on a ground-breaking study by L-Base, which had discovered a cancer associated cell, thereafter known as ‘CAGE’. “It is inhibited in every cancer cell that exists and we found that in 2002,” says Mr Kim. “That was found by our team and it was a revolutionary finding, which later became known to the world.”
This incredible finding laid the groundwork for scientists to develop the drug, which as well as proving effective in in-vitro and animal trials, is also symptom-free. It is this element that renders L-Base’s peptide-based drug such a unique project. “The current, available anti-cancer drugs are very much target-driven solutions, whereas we are more looking into the root cause of the cancer problems…We have produced a drug which provides so few side effects relative to other treatments.”
L-Base has thus far experienced great success in their mission to create a safer, more efficient cancer treatment. However, their journey is about to reach a critical juncture as they prepare for human trials, and L-Base see the Vroom summit as crucial in allowing them to continue on their journey. “The initial stage of the first part of the clinical human study will be done through King’s College in the UK… That will put us into the real cycle of the human trial, which will be in 2022… All the preclinical tests so far indicate that it is going to work.”
To continue on their path, and to bring their life-saving product to the market, L-Base now seeks further financial backing, and they have identified the unique characteristics of local, Monegasque investors that would make them an ideal partner. “We are hoping to raise a fund to help us lead into the human clinical study of our product,” Mr Kim reveals. “We wish to find not just money. I believe that Monaco has very fine investors who can actually invest a good amount, however we are looking for investors who can share our vision, share our tears and our success. For that reason, we don’t believe that institutional investors will do that job at this stage, and we believe that there are more investors like that in Monaco, and Vroom and Whitecastle will help us to find that.”
Any investment would potentially be funding not only a revolutionary advancement in the treatment of lung cancer, but also, as Mr Kim revealed, a treatment for a range of other cancers. “We have other pipelines planned for example blood cancer, breast cancer, and pancreatic cancers… This drug can also apply to colorectal cancer, which currently doesn’t have any remedies, so when we’ve finished with the lung cancer drug, we are going to get ready for preclinical trials for colorectal cancer.”
The Vroom summit could therefore help L-Base bring a whole dossier of life-saving products onto the market, highlighting the crucial relationship that exists between innovative, revolutionary start-ups and passionate investors. Also hoping to benefit from this crucial relationship is Prinker, who is seeking to bring its world-first, temporary tattoo printer into the European market. May Ching, manager of Prinker at the Vroom summit
Founded in 2015, Prinker has already begun asserting itself on the international stage, having already gained popularity in the US market. Similar to L-Base, Prinker is revolutionary within its own field, providing a temporary option to the traditional tattoo.
The product itself consists of ink cartridges, a skin primer and, most importantly, the electronic device which makes the print itself. The device is linked to the Prinker application, which can be found on Android or IOS stores. From there, users can choose from over 8,000 different designs, which are then automatically downloaded onto the printing device, and by skimming the device over the skin, the tattoo is then printed, and can only be washed off by soap.
According to May Ching, manager of Prinker, the uniqueness of the product opens up the tattooing market to a huge, new demographic. “As a temporary tattoo, you don’t have to worry about the pain, you don’t have to worry about the long-term commitment. No worries, no issues, no pain… Our product is a great alternative for kids and there are also parents and adults, who have always wanted a tattoo, but have always been afraid because of the pain and because of the long-term commitment, and some of us just want to have a change of design every day.”
Indeed, not only does the uniqueness of Prinker’s product resolve the issue of long-term commitment, one of the main reasons which make adults reticent towards the idea of getting a tattoo, but their product also has applications in a business context. “Businesses like event agencies or marketing companies use our solution as a form of activation at their events,” says Mr Ching. “So if I am a company such as Channel and I want my attendees to have the Channel logo on their skin, I can upload my logo onto the app and then print it on users, so it has a lot of different uses and hence the target market is so wide.”
Although their global target market may be vast, this is not the case for their domestic market in South Korea, as one of their co-founders Luke Yun points out: “We are not actually a domestic company, we are based in South Korea, but we are carrying out our business in the US market. More specifically, the Korean market is very conservative about skin expression because getting a tattoo is illegal.”
Given the stringent control that the government still has over skin expression in South Korea, it is a wonder that Prinker’s novel idea was even conceived at all. Mr Yun and his other co-founders had to look globally for inspiration, and delve into the concept of tattooing in order to formulate their idea. “The idea comes from this complex situation because skin expression is very varied across the world, for example we looked at the Amazon tribes. But we really believe tattooing is related to human instinct. We wanted to find a way to serve this instinct.”
Having searched globally for inspiration, they are now hoping to grow globally. Having already penetrated the US market, Prinker is hoping that the Vroom summit is a springboard for growth in Europe. “Europe is somewhere that we are trying to break into. We are already available in European nations through our official online store at prinker.us and we are also available on Amazon, and there are lots of chances where we can expand further into the European region.” The Vroom team with this year’s participants
Primed to help startups, such as Prinker and L-Base, to make the most of those ‘chances’ is Whitecastle Partners, the scouting department for the Vroom summit. Soyeh Kim, Whitecastle’s advisor for Asian finance, highlighted difficulties facing South Korean start-ups in Europe. “There are so many good innovative start-ups in Korea, they want to expand their market into Europe, but when it comes to Europe most of the start-ups are struggling.”
Mrs Kim says that technology, and its suitability to the European market, is a key issue facing South Korean start-ups on the continent, but also alludes to the importance of overcoming these issues: “The Korean government is thinking that the future of Korea is start-up, and they think that globalisation will be the key to their success.”
As a result, all start-ups looking to grow in Europe with Whitecastle Partners must exhibit one key characteristic according to Mrs Kim: “We always have to check that they have a global mind and global thinking, or at least planning to. That is our major criteria.”
The build-up to the inaugural edition of the Beking cycling event, set to take place on Sunday 28th November, has hit full speed with a social media campaign involving professional cyclists encouraging everyone to get involved.
Peter Sagan, three-time world cycling champion and one of the 40 professional riders set to race at the event, is amongst a group of participants seeking to create a buzz around the event through a series of videos that can be found on the Beking Twitter account.
In his social media video, the Slovakian rider highlights the unique opportunity for fans to race alongside the professionals at the event. “We’re going to be riding with you guys. Come along, and I’ll be happy to see you on the 28th.”
Monaco resident, former European Road Race cycling champion and co-founder of the Beking event, Matteo Trentin launched a similar appeal through the event’s media channels. “Whoever you are, bring your bike and enjoy riding with us.”
Amateurs wishing to race alongside the professional riders at the pro / AM racing on the Sunday morning can register at www.bekingevents.com. Those selected will not only share the same track as European and Tour de France champions, but also some of the biggest stars from four-wheel racing, including Mercedes’ F1 driver Valterri Bottas and the Monegasque F3 driver Arthur Leclerc.
Despite the inclusion of amateur riders, which will give the average cycling fan a once in a lifetime opportunity to ride alongside Tour de France winners such as Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas, the event will in fact be part of the official UCI race calendar, providing a highly competitive element to the day.
Beking Monaco will therefore be a hybrid event – combining both competitive and amateur sport, but it also has the aim of raising funds, and awareness, for charitable foundations, including the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation. The event will be seeking to harness the unique power of sport into creating positive social change through donating to, and promoting, charitable foundations.
Following the professional event on the Sunday afternoon, there will also be a conference on ‘soft mobility’, which will focus on the environmental aspect of the event.
The first edition of Beking Monaco will therefore unite both professional and amatuer riders for a truly enjoyable festival of cycling, which will not only celebrate achievements on the track, but also contribute to a good cause.
