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Month: November 2022

Prince Albert II honours scientific talent at FPA2 awards

by: Elsa Carpenter
28/11/2022

The focus was firmly on science at the annual Planetary Health Awards Ceremony in Monaco on Friday, as the Prince Albert II Foundation celebrated the work and achievements of three international names.

Hosted on Friday 25th November at the Monte-Carlo Opera, Prince Albert II opened the ceremony with an inspiring address that reflected the unique challenges of 2022.

“At a time when our planet is once again experiencing open conflicts that tend to push environmental issues aside, there has never been a better time to give a voice to those who seek to protect it,” said Prince Albert II.

He also emphasised that while the awards commend its laureates for their individual work, they also “reward the paths they have chosen”. He singled out three key areas – “politics and collective action, science and research, industry and innovation” – and reminded his talented audience of the need to “constantly mobilise” in order to progress.

A new format for the awards

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the event, Olivier Wenden, CEO of the FPA2, explained how the organisation has “redesigned” its awards to better reflect the work and beliefs of the foundation through three distinct categories.

“First and foremost is science” said Wenden. “This is the way the foundation works. We believe that scientific data [and] scientific messages are central in all the decision processes that must be taken in the public and the private sector. Second, to give voice to real ambassadors and activists in any environmental aspects. The third aspect: every year we want to give an award to a company. We tend not to consider start-ups, but companies that have proven results that benefit the environment, be that marine ecosystems or on land biodiversity. This is the new scope of our Planetary Health Awards.”

From left to right: President of AGRA Doctor Agnes Kalibata, ECOncrete Tech CEO Ido Sella, and Professor Dame Jane Francis, director of the British Antarctic Survey. Photo by Monaco Life

The 2022 laureates

Doctor Agnes Kalibata is a former minister of agriculture and animal resources in Rwanda and now the president of AGRA. Most recently, she has been “leading efforts to ensure Africa’s food security and prosperity through inclusive and sustainable agricultural growth to secure the livelihoods of millions of smallholders”.

Kalibata used her moment in the spotlight to impress upon the audience the importance of AGRA’s work as a whole.

“We are not on track to achieve [the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal of] Zero Hunger by 2030,” she said. “This is made more difficult by climate change, the challenge of our time. Agriculture is a major part of the climate problem. It currently generates 19–29% of total greenhouse gas emissions. Without action, that percentage could rise substantially. I am honoured to receive this award today, but it is not just for me. It is also an award acknowledging that we must continue our push to support African smallholder farmers.”

The second award winner was Professor Dame Jane Francis, the director of the British Antarctic Survey. She is also deeply involved in international polar organisations, such as the Antarctic Treaty and the European Polar Council, and serves on the advisory boards of several national polar programmes.

“It is a great honour to receive this award and I do so on behalf of all the excellent scientists who work with me at the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge and many colleagues around the world who are dedicated to understanding the changes happening to the polar regions,” said the professor. “I am sure that we are all aware that the polar regions are changing fast. What happens in these regions affects us all, even as we sit here today. As the ice sheets melt the sea level is rising across the planet, affecting billions of people who live near the coasts, affecting cities and business supply chains.”

The final award went to ECOncrete Tech, an interdisciplinary scientific company represented by CEO Ido Sella.

“With the majority of human population residing along coastlines, and the intensive process of coastal armouring due to increased storminess and prediction to sea level rise, an increased focus should be given to the neutral marine resources that are supporting precious ecosystem services,” said Sella as he accepted the award. “Today, as we work with cities, governments, industries and communities to change the way future waterfronts will look and function, and make marine life thrive where it couldn’t before, we are more committed than ever to this quest.”

The Church Forests of Ethiopia: a private screening

The screening of a short documentary film, The Church Forests of Ethiopia, followed the awards. It was produced by WaterBear, an environmentally-focused streaming platform. Its founder, Ellen Windemuth, joined the FPA2’s 2022 laureates for a roundtable discussion on the “environmental upheavals we are facing today and on the means we have to respond to them”, which was moderated by France 24 journalist Mairead Dundas and concluded the 2022 ceremony.

 

Photo above: HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco with from left to right Prof Dame Jane Francis, Dr Ido Sella and Dr Agnes Kalibat. Credit: JC Vinaj for FPA2

 

Condamine Market hosts Corsica

by: Elsa Carpenter
28/11/2022

Head to the popular Condamine Market this coming Saturday for a day celebrating the best of Corsican cuisine and culture. 

From 8am on Saturday 3rd December, the Condamine Market at the foot of Le Rocher will be dedicating a whole day to products – from cheese and olive oil to specialist meats and wine – from the Ile de Beauté.  

Musical performances and activities for the whole family will accompany a menu of tastings and gourmet treats.  

Entry is free.  

 

 

Photo source: Erik Dungan for Unsplash

Photos: Gilbert wins in final pro race at Beking

by: Luke Entwistle
28/11/2022

Philippe Gilbert’s glittering professional cycling career ended in fairytale fashion on the streets of Monte-Carlo, as he won the second edition of Beking on Sunday amidst a fun family atmosphere. 

A career spanning 19 years, which has included winning titles such as the UCI World Tour and classic races such as the Paris-Roubaix, came to an end on Sunday, but was marked with one more final triumph.

Having won the team time trial in the morning, Belgian cyclist Gilbert then won the headline event, the criterium, in the afternoon after making the break on the final lap of 40 around the iconic streets of Monte-Carlo.

“I’m really happy to have won the two events today. The team time-trial this morning by one second and then this afternoon with all the pros. It was a different win because, with the quality of the riders that we have in Monaco, it’s not easy,” said Gilbert.

As a Monaco resident, it was the perfect place to write the final chapter of Gilbert’s professional career.

“It’s nice to end my career like this. I’ve been living in Monaco for 13 years now, so finishing here is really nice,” he said.

Whilst the Beking event adds an element of competition to the off-season, its raison d’être is to inspire the next generation of cyclists and hundreds participated in the children’s race, with many of the professionals own children taking part.

“It’s a special event in that I can bring my wife and kids along and it’s an event that is entirely built around bikes and kids,” INEOS cyclist Luke Rowe told Monaco Life. “That’s great. We’re doing more and more in bringing bikes and safety to Monaco. Onwards and upwards!”

For the professionals, it is also an opportunity to ascertain their level ahead of the beginning of the season.

“In the middle of the winter, it’s nice to be able to test your legs and see exactly where you’re at with an important year coming up and just to gauge your form. The line-up is incredible. It really is the crème de la crème of professional cycling at the moment,” added Rowe.

Indeed the vast majority of the cyclists are from the local area, with the Principality acting as a hub for the elite of the sport. Monaco’s Victor Langellotti spoke about what makes the area so attractive to his fellow professionals.

“It’s a paradise for cyclists. The weather, the training ground is excellent, there are ascents, there is the flat. There is everything you need in order to train well,” he told Monaco Life.

Despite the Côte d’Azur’s overwhelming popularity with cyclists, the sport has yet to flourish in the area, a fact that Beking is attempting to rectify.

“It’s a nice project. For the second edition, it’s better,” said Gilbert. “I’m sure every year it will have more success and I hope to come back in 10 years and there will be 1000s of people. Cycling is not famous here in the south of France so we have to make it famous. We’re on the right path. The dream is to have one of these kids riding today turning professional in 10 or 15 years. That would be the best message.”

It is an event that adds a sprinkle of competition for professionals in the off-season, that raises the profile of the sport on the Côte, and inspires the next generation of riders. The second edition of Beking was a confirmation of the event’s and the sport’s positive trajectory in the Principality.

 

Photo gallery by Monaco Life.

 

Testimonio II given permission to extend

by: Stephanie Horsman
28/11/2022

Monaco’s National Council has announced that 30 additional apartments will be built at the Testimonio II site after its developers were given government permission to raise one of the towers by five storeys.

A landmark development in the Principality, as reported by Monaco Life, the Testimonio II construction site has just been granted permission to build 30 more state housing units to help ease housing shortages in the Principality.

The Réséda Tower, formerly known as Testimonio II Bis, will now have a total of 197 state-owned units made up of 15 one-bedroom and 15 two-bedroom flats.

Leading the charge on the expansion efforts was National Council President Brigitte Boccone-Pagès who asked the minister of state, Pierre Dartout, to push through permission to raise the Réséda Tower by five storeys.

The public housing shortages in Monaco are chronic, but the government has taken several steps to eliminate the problem via the construction of not only Testimonio II, which is being built by the Groupe Marzocco, but also the Palais Honoria, Villa Carmelha and Grand Ida developments. This, the National Council hopes, will reduce the shortages as the fruits of their labours will bear more than 600 new flats by the end of 2023.

Additionally, after the examination of the Initial State Budget for the 2023 financial year, it is expected that the government will soon announce at least one more state accommodation-motivated operation.

SEE ALSO:

Exclusive interview: Daniele Marzocco on building Monaco’s landmark skyscrapers

 

 

Photo source: Groupe Marzocco

Michelin-starred Mauro Colagreco to take on new UN role

by: Stephanie Horsman
28/11/2022

Mauro Colagreco, the three-starred chef from local restaurant Mirazur, now has another hat to wear as a new UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.  

He’s got three Michelin stars to his name and his Menton restaurant was voted Best in the World in 2019. Now, through his interests in biodiversity and ecology – Mirazur became the first restaurant in the world to achieve a plastic-free certification in 2020 – 46-year-old Colagreco has become a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

The appointment did not happen overnight. In fact, it has been two years in the making, and started when the famed chef contacted UNESCO to set up a biosphere-related project involving circular restoration. The project, a working farm in every sense, is set to be up and running next year.  

“It is a circular restoration program,” Colagreco told France 3. “It will be a farm with three poles: agricultural (second half of 2023), catering and training (from 2024). It was while participating in several conferences that UNESCO discovered our work and offered me the job. I am very happy, very honoured.”  

The Italian-Argentinian will hold this unpaid position for two years, with the possibility of renewal. The job is offered only to those whose lives and values reflect those of UNESCO. He is the 99th ambassador and the first chef to hold the title.  

The choice is not unwarranted. Colagreco’s Mirazur uses produce grown in his own garden, has eliminated single-use plastics, and has a fish maturation room he uses when the daily catch is not as strong as it could be. His efforts prove he is an ardent advocate of finding better and more environmentally-friendly ways of doing things.  

In a press release, UNESCO said, “As Goodwill Ambassador, Chef Mauro Colagreco will have the role of promoting the organisation’s actions in favour of biodiversity. As part of [its] mandate for science, UNESCO notably created the ‘Man and the Biosphere’ program in 1971, which aims to restore a balance between human beings and their environment. There are today 738 UNESCO biosphere reserves throughout the world, which represent more than 1.3 million km² of protected areas.” 

 

 

Photo source: UNESCO

South of France steps up action to combat bronchiolitis epidemic

by: Stephanie Horsman
28/11/2022

The regional health agency for Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur is activating the next level of an action plan in its hospitals to help ease the strain brought on by the bronchiolitis epidemic.

The Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur (PACA) region is overwhelmed by cases of bronchiolitis, a respiratory illness that affects babies and young children under two, which, when left untreated, can become very serious.

To cope with the rising caseloads, the region has activated the first level of internal mobilisation in healthcare establishments, known commonly as a white plan or plan blanc. Prior to the white plan, the region had a lower grade scheme in place.

“For five weeks, PACA has been facing an epidemic of bronchiolitis,” says a spokesperson for the Regional Health Agency (ARS). “The epidemic indicators exceed the level of all the epidemic peaks of the previous winter seasons.”

According to the agency, there were 730 emergency room visits last week for the illness, compared to 502 the previous week. Hospitalisations were also on the rise, going from 196 to 259 in the same time frame. The only département in PACA not to see a rise of cases is Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.

The alarming increases spurred the decision to trigger the white plan, which gives health care facilities increased ability to take care of its young patients. It includes the activation of hospital crisis units, adding more paediatric staff, and increasing reception capacity by rescheduling non-urgent surgeries. The hope now is that the white plan will be sufficient to steady or decrease the number of patients.

Bronchiolitis does not require hospitalisation in 95% of cases and can usually be treated by a doctor. Slowing the progress of the disease can be helped by regular hand washing, airing rooms 10 minutes a day, making sure toys are cleaned, and not sharing drinking vessels or cutlery.

Go to hospital if serious signs emerge, such as difficulty breathing, a respiratory rate of greater than 60 breaths per minute, or a 50% drop in appetite compared to usual intake.

 

 

Photo source: Michael Bar Haim for Unsplash