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Day: 21 July 2022

Princess’ Foundation rallies for World Drowning Prevention Day

by: Stephanie Horsman
21/07/2022

The Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation is launching a digital awareness campaign and activities for World Drowning Prevention Day 2022 on 25th July to hit home the importance of looking after kids when they are in or near the water.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), about 236,000 people die each year from drowning. This statistic becomes all the more tragic when learning that it is one of the leading causes of death for children in low-to-middle income countries, with the main victims being only one to four years of age.

In France, drowning takes the lives of more than a thousand people each year, according to Public Health France. Most of these preventable deaths occur during the summer high season.

“The number of accidental drownings during the months of June, July and August 2021 remains high,” the governmental organisation explains. “Accidental drownings affect all ages and places. These results highlight the need to continue prevention of the risk of drowning at all ages, with an emphasis on the supervision of children and the practice of physical activity, including swimming, considering the state of health of each individual.”

Last summer, the two groups most affected by drowning accidents were those under the age of six and those over 65 with 26% and 20% of the total number coming from these two age ranges.

The Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation, following WHO recommendations, is taking action. This summer, there will be a campaign on local digital signage networks and social media using the simple but powerful messages, “Take Care of Them” and “Take Care of Yourselves”.

On 25th July, World Drowning Prevention Day, the Foundation will be set up on the Larvotto esplanade, offering activities and rescue demonstrations alongside Monaco Maritime Police, the Monegasque Sea Academy, CSAPM, and the Terre Neuve 06 Association.

They will be on hand to talk about the importance of taking measures to lessen the chance of accidental drownings, including learning to swim and learning lifesaving techniques, keeping an eye on children near the water at all times, checking kids’ floatation devices are properly working, avoiding swimming alone, obeying beach flags and bathing limits, not overdoing it, and avoiding alcohol if planning to be in or near water.

In addition to these general good habits to follow, there are ones more specific to those swimming in the sea versus swimming pools.

Swimmers who like a good dip in the Med should remain in supervised swimming areas and swim with another person. They should also consider swimming with an open water swim buoy to lessen chances of the unthinkable happening as well as swimming parallel to shore, rather than out to sea.

Swimming pools pose different dangers and therefore have different criteria, such as having an adult supervising at all times, swimming at the same time as children, always keeping an eye on them and being particularly vigilant in above-ground pools with no security systems.

These simple common sense tips can save hundreds of lives. To learn more, visit the Foundation’s website on http://www.fondationprincessecharlene.mc/

 

 

 

Photo by Briana Tozour on Unsplash

 

 

 

Pope Francis receives Prince Albert and Princess Charlene at Vatican

by: Cassandra Tanti
21/07/2022

Ecological and humanitarian issues were top of the agenda when Prince Albert and Princess Charlene met with Pope Francis at the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace on Wednesday.

According to Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican Press Office, the pontiff said he was “impressed to meet a person who is committed and dedicates time to good works” after their meeting.

It was the second time that the princely couple met the Argentinean pope after a first visit in 2016. Prince Albert had met his predecessor, Benedict XVI, in 2009 and 2013.

The meeting between Pope Francis and the couple lasted about 25 minutes. During the traditional sharing of gifts, the Pope presented them with a bronze depiction of a child helping another child up from the ground with the words “love” and “help” etched on either side of the figures, as well as several documents including copies of his Message for the 2022 World Day of Peace and the Document on Human Fraternity.

Photo by Eric Mathon / Prince’s Palace – Foto@vaticanmedia

Meanwhile, Prince Albert presented the Pope with an artistic sketch of the Chapel of St. John the Baptist located in the Palace of Monaco.

Monaco’s Vatican diplomacy is etched in ecological issues, given Prince Albert’s commitment to and defence of the oceans, as well as humanitarian issues, especially for children. Monaco regularly works with important Catholic organisations such as the Sant’Egidio Community and the Order of Malta.

The princely couple visited the Falon exhibition at the Vatican Museums. Photo by Eric Mathon / Prince’s Palace – Foto@vaticanmedia

After the audience with the Pope, Prince Albert and Princess Charlene visited the Folon exhibition at the Vatican Museums, which is open to the public until 27th August.

The Monegasque princely family have regularly visited Vatican City throughout the decades. Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace were received by Pope Pius XII in 1957, John XXIII in 1959, and Paul VI in 1974. In 2005, Prince Albert’s first public appearance as sovereign outside Monaco was his attendance at the funeral of Pope John Paul II.

 

 

 

New tool needed to measure gender wage gap

by: Stephanie Horsman
21/07/2022

A new report detailing the wage disparity between men and women in Monaco shows that painting such a picture is not as easy as it sounds, hence the introduction of a new model in Monaco.

The Monegasque Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies’ (IMSEE) new report on the gender wage gap in Monaco revealed the “real situation in Monaco” by taking inventory in both the public and private sectors in 2019, the year prior to the global pandemic.

The study took into account specificities to Monaco and the structure of the employed population.

Explaining how it was built, Alexandre Bubbio, Director of IMSEE, said that “A solid statistical methodology and tending to an analysis ‘all other things being equal’ was built in partnership with INSEE (the French counterpart of IMSEE) and validated by the Scientific Council for Statistics and Economic Studies, chaired by Professor Pierre-André Chiappori.”

Using primarily the salary indexes of civil servants and state agents for analysing the public sector situation, the report found the situation to be nearly equal, with women having a slight edge of 0.7% over their male workmates. Women held 47% of senior level positions, again showing near equality.

The private sector is a bit less egalitarian, but not overwhelmingly so. Based on the difference between the median salary of men and women as defined by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Monaco shows a gap of 5.9% slanting toward men.

Despite this slight difference in wages between the genders, it puts Monaco firmly in the top 10 most egalitarian countries, placing them well ahead of France, which comes in at 24th in the rankings. The Principality is not an OECD member, so therefore is not included in their rankings, but if it were so, Monaco’s average would come in way above their collective average of 12.6%. It also beats out the European Union average of an 11.1% gap.

Though thorough and accurate, the study found a different picture when calculations were made on a monthly and hourly basis, so as to “mitigate the effect of working time which generally differs according to gender.”

Using this methodology, the average wage of women is a rather shocking 20.9% lower than men. By way of comparison, during the same period, this gap was 17.1% in the Alpes-Maritimes, 17.3% in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region and 15.4% in metropolitan France, according to INSEE.

This way of calculating allows statisticians to sidestep the impossibility of establishing a comparison for equal position and equal credentials. Said IMSEE in their report, “Indeed, it is simply not possible to analyse two situations that are strictly identical in terms of gender, diploma, age, occupation and career path.”

The gender wage gap is, thus, in line with the region, but is less dramatic when it is considered that the salaries of Monaco’s highest paid men, the nation’s professional athletes, are part of this study.

In the private sector, the findings of the report were carried out using an econometric model to measure the influence of certain characteristics in the gap observed, and therefore tend towards an “all things otherwise equal” approach.

The government has asked IMSEE to “deepen the analysis” in a few ways. They have asked them to launch a comparative study based on elements available from previous years to measure the dynamics of change which will be presented to local players. Additionally, they wish to create a voluntary self-assessment campaign for companies by targeting positions and examining criteria such as gender distribution, diploma, and functions. A short and anonymous questionnaire will be available online to gather the data.

Furthermore, there will be an implementation of actions promoting positive corporate behaviour based on the 2019 charter “Monégale” as well as awareness campaigns set up by the Committee for the Promotion and Protection of Women’s Rights.

Finally, there will be an information blitz led by the National Education, Youth and Sports Department that will remove the idea that certain jobs are the domains of men or women only.

 

 

 

Photo by Stephane Danna, Government Communication Department

 

 

 

Join in the fun with ‘Evenings in Monaco-Ville’

by: Stephanie Horsman
21/07/2022

Evenings in Monaco-Ville, where merchants and eateries invite visitors to roam the ancient alleyways and partake of delicious cuisine, all set to the backdrop of live music and dancing, are back this summer with a full line-up of fun for all ages.  

The shopkeepers and restauranteurs of The Rock want you!

Monaco-Ville is the place to be for spectacular and fun-filled nights this summer, reminding locals and inviting visitors that The Rock has much to offer. The winding streets, home to several adorable shops and fine restaurants, will be abuzz with music and dancing, as well as artistic workshops and treasure hunts designed to keep the kids more than amused.

To make access as convenient as possible, there is a 100% electric shuttle service that will take passengers up the hill following a circuit linking Monaco-Ville to Place Sainte-Dévote which will run every 15 minutes between the hours of 8pm and 10:50pm. This service is in addition to, not in lieu of, the regular bus lines, which are also operational.

For those who prefer their own car, the Parking de la Visitation is now open to the public in the evening, subject to availability.

These party evenings are being held on Wednesday 20th July, Thursday 11th August and Wednesday 24thAugust from 4pm to 9pm and have been organised by the government of Monaco in conjunction with the Mairie as part of the economic recovery plan put in place to assist local businesses.

On 20th July, expect the unexpected with a Gypsy Evening featuring six musical performances and two dancers, as well as a treasure hunt for the tots.

Head to South America on 11th August for the Brazilian Evening, replete with three musicians, three dancers and two kid’s workshops.

Finally, the party returns home for the Monaco Evening, where a host, three musical acts and a treasure hunt await.

 

 

Rearranging the furniture: Multiple transfers between clubs

by: Luke Entwistle
21/07/2022

A flurry of transfer activity has seen three players move from AS Monaco to Cercle Brugge and one player make the opposite switch in the space of two days, further highlighting their “synergies”.

On Tuesday, Louis Torres and Lucas Larade both left Monaco on permanent transfers to join Belgian top division side Cercle Brugge, Monaco’s satellite club. Torres never made an appearance for the first-time, but did appear over 20 times for the reserve side. Larade joined Monaco from US Créteil last season, but didn’t make an appearance for the first team.

Radoslaw Majecki has also joined Cercle. The Polish goalkeeper has joined on a simple one-year loan with no option to buy. He has struggled for game time since arriving at the club in 2020, first finding himself behind Benjamin Lecomte in the pecking order and then Alexander Nübel last season.

Majecki will now have the chance to earn considerable game time whilst in the Belgian top flight and make a claim to be Monaco’s number 1 from the 2023/24 season with Nübel’s loan from Bayern Munich expiring and the German’s long-term future currently unclear.

Majecki will take the place of Thomas Didillon, who has moved in the opposite direction. The French, former Metz goalkeeper has joined Monaco on a one-year loan, and will provide back-up to Nübel.

Didillon had been on trial with Monaco throughout the summer, making appearances in pre-season friendlies and also joining the side on their training camp in Portugal.

There will be no further recruitment in the goalkeeping position. As revealed by sporting director Paul Mitchell during Wednesday’s unveiling of Didillo, Takumi Minamino and Breel Embolo, the club will trust in youth rather than replacing Vito Mannone, whose contract at the club expired this summer.

“Our goalkeepers compliment each other nicely,” began Mitchell. “Alex is one of the best goalkeepers in the championship and in Europe and Thomas will bring his quality to the group. He knows what I expect of him. We are certain that we’ll see him get to the next level. Yann (Lienard) is coming back from international duty with even more experience and personality. We won’t need to recruit. There is a very healthy level of competition,” he continued.

The latest flurry of transfer dealings between the two clubs is further proof of their interconnectedness and of their “synergies”, which work to the mutual benefit of both clubs, and by extension, their players.

 

 

Photo of Radoslaw Majecki by Monaco Life