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Month: October 2022

Open Days: study at the International University of Monaco

by: Elsa Carpenter
25/10/2022

Ahead of a 2023 intake, the International University of Monaco has two Open Days coming up. This first is this Thursday!

A visit to the establishment’s campus has been organised for Thursday 27th October and slots are still available. Between 5.30pm and 7.30pm, perspective students can tour the grounds and meet with the admissions team for the inside scoop on life at the IUM.  

A second Open Day, split over two sessions, will take place on Saturday 3rd December: 10am to noon and 2pm to 4pm.  

In January 2023, the university will welcome new students to a number of its programmes, from the Bachelor BBA programme to its MSc in Luxury Management, Sport Business Management or International Management.

Students on these courses complete the same curriculum as those who started in September, only a semester later. It is a popular option for international students who may need to apply for visas after their high school education and in particular those from the southern hemisphere, whose school year follows the calendar months.  

For more information: www.monaco.edu. 

 

 

Photo source: Joshua Hoehne for Unsplash

Monégasque crews impress in J/70 World Championship

by: Luke Entwistle
25/10/2022

Teams from Monaco finished second in two categories in Saturday’s J/70 World Championship, organised for the first time by the Yacht Club de Monaco (YCM)

On the Riviera’s waters, there was no stopping Swiss boat Découvertes, captained by Killian Wagen. The boat, which has already won the Primo Cup this year, blew away the competition in the Open category, leaving the rest of the pack in a race to be best-of-the-rest.

That award was secured by Monégasuqe boat Leonteq – captained by Pierrik Devic – which on home waters put in a great performance to secure second, ahead of American boat Relative Obscurity. 

Post-race, Devic expressed his shock at the incredible performance. “It was a huge surprise, but it is the result of all the hard work I’ve put in with my crew the past year. It was an amazing field with big names in sailing and we are very proud to come 2nd, which we owe to the professionalism of our crew and our consistency,” he said.

Monaco also finished on the podium in the One Pro category. Australian boat Vamos, captained by Tim Ryan comfortably secured the victory ahead of Monaco’s Junda, captained by Ludovico Fassitelli.

In the Corinthian category, the Swiss once again reigned. Quarter2eleven, captained by Nick Zeltner took the victory ahead of the Spanish boat Marnatura, captained by Luis Bugallo.

Following the event, YCM Vice-President Pierre Casiraghi said, “It’s a real pleasure and honour to hold such an event. That hasn’t happened since 1976. Above all, it was great to see our Monaco crews shine.”

For nautical aficionados in the Principality, there are more races to enjoy in the coming weeks. Act 1 of the Monaco Sportsboat Winter series begins on 3rd November, whilst two YCM boats will compete in the Route du Rum, which begins in St Malo on 6th November.

 

Photo by YCM

 

Sportel 2022 winners revealed in glitzy ceremony

by: Luke Entwistle
25/10/2022

The winners of the 2022 Sportel awards were presented in Monday’s ceremony at the Grimaldi Forum, attended by Monaco Life and stars from the world of sport. 

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) legend Georges St-Pierre, Liverpool’s all-time top scorer Ian Rush, and former Manchester City player and most expensive defender in the world Eliaquim Mangala were all present at Monday’s ceremony, which celebrates a breadth of achievements within the sporting world.

At the end of two days of interviews, talks, expositions, and autograph sessions, the winners of the Sportel awards were finally reviewed. As well as St-Pierre and Mangala, Arthur Bauchet, Robert Colle, Stéphane Le Goff, Michael Payne, Sarah Ourahmoune, and Philippe Sella were on the jury to evaluate this year’s candidates.

Photo by Monaco Life

A range of works were rewarded: from advertisements, to books, slow-motion replays and documentaries. Peace and Sport, a Monégasuqe organisation that seeks to promote values of peace through the medium of sport, had its own documentary prize, which was awarded to For the Sake of Peace, a film about the violence and football in South Sudan, the world’s youngest, and one of the most violent nation-states.

The final prize of the evening, presented by Pierre Casiraghi and St-Pierre, was awarded to Thomas Gonçalves for his film (Wo)man Power by Puzzle Media.

“We wanted to honour champions of all categories, Olympic and Paralympic medallists, World and European champions, men and women who are examples of courage and whose careers command respect and admiration. Our vocation is more than ever based on the diversity of the sports represented,” said Loris Menoni, Executive Director of SPORTEL awards.

Whilst this year’s prizes have been attributed, the event itself continues until Wednesday, with networking events, masterclasses and the exhibition hall all still available to attend.

The ceremony provided a poignant reminder of the capacity of sport to transcend divisions and to be a force for positive change.

 

Photo of SPORTEL award winners by Monaco Life

 

 

 

Covid latest: steps towards “normalisation”?

by: Elsa Carpenter
25/10/2022

As a new variant gains pace and infections grow among children, France’s Covid authority questions whether the country should follow EU neighbours in the “normalisation” of managaing the disease.  

On Monday 24th October, Covars (Comité de Veille et d’Anticipation des Risques Sanitaires) released a report that indicated an increase of infections particularly among school age children. The incident rate nationwide, however, stands at a fairly stable 576 and no significant impact on hospital capacity has been noted. 

In Monaco, the incident rate has oscillated in recent weeks, but sits at 222 (up from 189 the previous week). 1,214 PCR and antigen tests have been performed, with a 14.2% positivity rate. 14 people are currently hospitalised at the Centre Hospitalier Princesse Grace; six of which are Monaco residents. 47 people with mild symptoms are being watched by the Home Monitoring Centre.  A total of 65 deaths have been recorded in the Principality since the start of the pandemic. The most recent was the sad passing of a 78-year-old resident on Saturday 22nd October. 

Covars was founded in July and is headed by a specialist team of doctors and scientists. Its most recent publication acknowledges a possible “eighth wave” of Covid in the weeks and months to come due to the widespread circulation of the BA.5 variant, which has been present in France and Monaco since mid-summer. The emergence of another new sub-variant, BQ.1.1, is also cause for concern. This new variant first appeared in French territory in September and is responsible for around 15% of current infections.  

The Covars report also highlighted a need for better discussion on a “normalisation approach with regarding to the management of the disease”, as has happened in numerous countries within the EU.  

“Masks remain the best and easiest to implement instruments in limiting transmission,” said Covars President Brigitte Autran. “[They] remain useful despite the vaccination uptake, in particular for vulnerable people in a high risk of contracting severe Covid-19.” 

Autran stressed an importance on the “responsible wearing” of masks – as well as an acceleration of vaccines for the most at risk – rather than imposed mask-wearing for the general population.  

 

 

Photo source: CDC on Unsplash

 

 

Welcome to the new home of the Monaco Police

by: Stephanie Horsman
25/10/2022

Built in record time, Monaco’s Public Security officers have moved into new temporary offices across from Stade Louis II whilst the site on Rue Suffren-Reymond gets a modern make-over.  

The temporary lodgings for Monaco’s Public Security officers took just five months to build; an almost unheard-of feat of speed and architectural know-how. The site, made up of 126 wooden modules placed together like puzzle pieces to form a whole, is 19-metres high and has a total surface area of 2,500m2. It can be dismantled and reused again for other uses elsewhere, making it not only practical, but also recyclable.  

The structures, made from sustainable wood, were assembled in a factory in Lyon and transported to the Principality by truck overnight to be pieced together on a platform between Stade Louis II and SBM Offshore. The building includes office spaces, a reception area, and of course, holding cells.  

Being made of wood, the modules are more vulnerable to fire than a brick-and-mortar structure, so the site is equipped with five thermal cameras that trigger sprinklers if required.   

The cost came to €7 million, and for the officers who had been working in a construction site, it is worth every centime. The permanent home to Public Security is being renovated to meet the needs of a modern police force, but as this process takes time, and crime waits for no one, the government decided to erect a structure to give officers a more peaceful setting to conduct business.  

The public is now welcome to visit the new address at 2 Avenue Albert II, from the portico’s western entrance, effective immediately.  

 

 

Photo by Monaco Life

EU initiative dreams of clean energy independence

by: Stephanie Horsman
25/10/2022

The European Union has launched a new campaign called You are EU that hopes to spark a wider conversation about energy independence and renewable sources across the continent.   

The EU is clearly taking lessons learned from the recent past and incorporating them into policies for the future. Russia’s abrupt cutting of gas to the continent was a chilling reminder of European vulnerabilities when relying on another nation to supply a basic energy need.  

To rectify this problem, as well as to build greener ways of supplying energy, the EU has launched You are EU, calling it a way to transform the current energy challenges into a better tomorrow by encouraging the creation and use of clean energy generated from within the Union.   

“For Europe – now more than ever – solidarity is destiny,” said Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. “The more we stand together, the more unity we show, the more we can emerge from the year ahead as a stronger Union and the better we can prepare the world of tomorrow.” 

Closer to home, France is working seriously toward several alternatives such as wind energy, with the first crop of offshore windmills set to go online by the end of this year and a total of 50 offshore wind farms due to be built 2050. If all goes to plan, these powerhouses will account for 20% of French energy consumption.  

Additionally, renewable hydrogen options are high on the list, which complies with a threshold of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per kilogram of hydrogen produced. 

Among the proposed reforms, the French government wants to simplify the procedure for granting permits to new projects. It currently takes “an average of five years of procedures to build a solar farm, seven years for a wind farm and ten years for an offshore wind farm” according to government sources. In other EU countries, it can often be as twice as fast. 

Despite best efforts, France was the only EU country, with the exception of Poland, to come up short on the EU-wide objective of bringing the share of renewables to 20% of the bloc’s energy mix by 2020. 

By the decade’s end, France will be required to contribute to a new EU-wide objective on renewables. For now, the EU-27 has agreed to a 40% target for 2030, short of the European Commission’s proposed 45% target reduced earlier this year after Russia invaded Ukraine. 

 

 

Photo source: Thomas Reaubourg for Unsplash