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Day: 26 December 2022

Roca Team lose after late capitulation

by: Luke Entwistle
26/12/2022

AS Monaco Basketball missed the chance to become outright Euroleague leaders after a late collapse against Olimpia Milan saw them slip to a second-consecutive defeat (79-71) on Friday. 

Instead, the Roca Team are one of five teams to have a 10-5 record in the Euroleague, in what is shaping up to be a tight season. This was a missed opportunity for Sasa Obradovic’s men, who at one point in the match led by 17 points.

However, the Principality side capitulated at the death, letting their lead slip on their way to a disappointing loss against second-bottom Milan, who registered their fifth victory of the season.

Like many sides competing on two fronts, Monaco’s schedule has been harsh this December. Despite a good start, which notably saw Monaco prevail on the court of European giants Real Madrid, they look to be short on energy. Their fourth-quarter collapse on Friday was symptomatic of their exhaustion.

The Roca Team were at their best at either side of the half-time break, dominating the entire second quarter (26-10), before continuing to grow their lead early in the third. However, there were sprouts of a Milan revival towards the end of the penultimate quarter, and what preceded was nothing short of total domination.

Monaco had no response to Milan in the final 10 minutes, who converted with ruthless efficiency at one end and prevented chances at the other. From a position of strength, Obradovic’s men saw the game snatched away as Milan more than tripled their fourth-quarter score (28-9).

Milan ultimately prevailed (79-71), to the disappointment of co-captain Yakuba Ouattara. “It is a match that we had in our own hands. There is a lot of frustration. We poorly managed our lead. We have to finish the year in the best way possible against Kaunas Zalgiris, which is a potential trap. We need to learn from these matches,” he said.

Monaco next face Fos-Sur-Mer in the Betclic Elite on Tuesday, before finishing the year by welcoming Zalgiris in the Euroleague on Thursday.

 

Photo by AS Monaco Basketball

Monaco Ambassador welcomed by King of the Netherlands

by: Cassandra Tanti
26/12/2022

The new Ambassador of the Principality of Monaco to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Frédéric Labarrère, has presented his Letters of Credence to King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands during a solemn ceremony at the Noordeinde Palace in The Hague.

The Ambassador, accompanied by a delegation composed of Johannes de Millo Terrazzani and Jean-Baptiste Blanchy, were first welcomed into the Court of Honour of the Palace by the Royal Guard. After signing the guest book, the Ambassador presented his Letters of Credence to His Majesty King Willem-Alexander in the salons of the Palace, who was accompanied by the Grand Master of the Royal Household and the Director of Protocol.

During the private meeting that followed, Monaco’s environmental action was discussed as well as the various links between the two countries, particularly in the field of sport.

“Following a very cordial exchange, the Ambassador assured His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of his commitment to maintaining and strengthening the excellent relations between the Principality of Monaco and the Kingdom of the Netherlands,” said the Monaco Government in a statement.

 

 

Photo source: Monaco Government

 

New NMNM exhibit dedicated to digital art

by: Jessica Tatam
26/12/2022

The Nouveau Musée National de Monaco (NMNM) has released a new programme, ‘Winter Video Days’, dedicated to video and digital art, two of the newcomers to contemporary art, with the first edition showcasing works by Turkish video artist, Ali Kazma.

The Nouveau Musée National de Monaco (NMNM) has released a new programme, ‘Winter Video Days’ dedicated to video art and digital art, two of the newcomers to contemporary art, with the first edition showcasing works by Turkish video artist, Ali Kazma.

The world is forever changing and the art scene is no exception. In a bid to keep abreast of new and innovative trends, ‘Winter Video Days’ presents the first exhibition, a series of video artworks by Ali Kazma.

Kazma, a video and photography artist, uses his work to “raise fundamental questions about the meaning of human activities”. The videos and editing are all the work of Kazma himself and, according to the NMNM, “whether in the fields of economics, industry, science, medicine, society or art, each of his videos questions the developments that take place in our societies, and together gradually represent a vast archive of the human condition.”

The exhibition – continuing until January 15th in Villa Sauber – gives the viewer a look at three different videos.

– Top Fuel (2020), a short video dedicated to Anita Mäkelä, Finnish drag racer, also includes a series of photographs taken during the process.

– House of Ink (2022) and Sentimental (2022) were filmed with Orhan Pamuk, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, and serve to show the audience how “the least cinematic of activities – writing – can be translated into images” while covering the topics of creativity and imagination.

Born in Istanbul in 1971 and obtaining his master’s degree from the New School University in New York, Ali Kazma has had numerous solo exhibitions worldwide and his works are currently included in collections such as CNAP (Paris), Istanbul Modern, MEP (Paris), MONA (Tasmania), Sztuki Museum (Lodz), Tate Modern (London), TBA21 (Vienna), Fondation Louis Vuitton collection (Paris) and the VKV Foundation collection (Istanbul).

Complementing the exhibition is a novel-style catalogue containing an introduction, illustrations from the artist’s work, and an interview by the curator of the exhibition, Guillaume de Sardes. Additionally, at 6.30pm Thursday January 12th, de Sardes will moderate a discussion between Ali Kazma and art historian Paul Ardenne at the periphery of the exhibition.

 

Photo credit: Stephane Dana, Government Communication Department

Monaco businesses make networking trip to Paris

by: Cassandra Tanti
26/12/2022

Around 20 Monegasque companies joined the Monaco Economic Board (MEB) on a recent trip to Paris for a series of business meetings, metaverse discoveries and a performance by the Monte-Carlo Opera.

The mission to the French capital from 13th to 15th December was an opportunity for MEB members to learn more about the dynamism shown by Paris in the digital sector. On the 45th floor of the Montparnasse Tower in the offices of MainBot, they were able to discover the metaverse. After a talk on Web3, blockchain, and NFTs by Chris Clavel, CEO of Monaco-based Baccana Digital Consulting, Boris Kesler Fasano, CEO of Mainbot and NFT Factory, and his team presented the Winkyverse – a utopian, immersive universe that virtually propels visitors to earth, but in 3,000 years’ time. It aims to be the first playful and educational metaverse in the world and has already raised €26 million through the sale of NFTs.

The members then headed to the famous Station F, the largest startup campus in the world created in 2017 by Xavier Niel, majority shareholder of Monaco Telecom. Located in a former 34,000m2 rail freight hall, Station F welcomes more than 1,000 startups each year and offers more than 30 support programs with the backing of prestigious investors.

The entire MEB delegation at the economic forum organised in collaboration with the CCI Paris Ile-de-France. Photo credit: Florence Bonny / MEB

The highlight of the trip was on Wednesday morning during an economic forum organised in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) of the Paris Ile-de-France region. After a welcome by Guillaume Rose, Executive Director General of the MEB, and Stéphane Fratacci, Director General of the Ile-de-France CCI, there were presentations of the economic assets of each territory.

To formalise the links established during the event, a partnership agreement was signed between the two chambers of commerce by Guillaume Rose and Marie-Christine Oghly, President of the International Committee of the CCI, in the presence of Valérie Bruell-Melchior, Minister of the Embassy of Monaco in France representing Ambassador Christophe Steiner.

The main aspect of the trip was played out during a session of individual business meetings which allowed Monegasque entrepreneurs to meet new targeted contacts in the French capital. More than 60 connections took place, followed by a lunch cocktail which allowed for more in depth conversations and new meetings in a relaxed atmosphere.

Finally, MEB members headed to the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées for a splendid version of Lakmé by Léo Delibes, with soprano Sabine Devieilhe accompanied by the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra and of the Monte-Carlo Opera Choir under the direction of Stefano Visconti.

Another highlight was a dinner at the Argentinian restaurant Anahi, owned Monegasque restaurateur and entrepreneur Riccardo Giraudi, member of the MEB, in collaboration with chef Mauro Colagreco of the three-starred Miramar restaurant in Menton.

“This trip, organised with the invaluable support of the French Embassy in Monaco, revealed new avenues for collaboration between Monaco and Paris and once again confirmed the MEB’s role as a catalyst for connections and synergies,” said the MEB in a press statement. “A role that will be assured again from the start of the school year in the Principality, during an Eco Club dedicated to supporting companies in their energy transition on 16th January and during the 43rd Meeting of Members on 18th January.”

 

 

Photo above credit: Florence Bonny / MEB

Airbnb cracks down on clandestine NYE parties

by: Elsa Carpenter
26/12/2022

Online accommodation platform Airbnb is tightening its rules in a bid to clampdown on illicit house parties over the New Year. 

For the third consecutive year – or New Year – Airbnb has put in place a string of restrictions on travellers it is unfamiliar with.  

The sanctions primarily target guests looking to rent a private property for New Year’s Eve, but have no history of positive Airbnb reviews or bookings. Similar restrictions apply to the same category of guest looking to spend two to three nights in a rental, particularly when the requested property is close to their original location. 

The platform says that while the “overwhelming majority” of its users are respectful travellers who rent properties responsibly, its proactive measures at a time of year when the number of unwanted incidents reported by homeowners is particularly high can help “prevent potential inappropriate behaviour”.  

According to Airbnb’s head of security operations, Naba Banerjee, around 92,800 people in France were blocked from renting in 2021 thanks to these rules; locally 1,400 in Nice and 700 in Cannes. Overall, the measures have helped reduce “incident rates” by around 40% year-on-year. 

“We’re committed to cracking down on unsanctioned parties,” adds a spokesperson for the global company. “[It is] a system that has proven its worth since its launch in 2020.” 

The restrictions have been enacted in 11 countries worldwide, such as the US, Canada, UK, Ireland Australia and New Zealand.  

In France, the measures are accompanied by a range of other tools for homeowners and their communities, including a free noise detector by Minut and an improved system for its Neighbour Helpline and 24-hour security hotline. Guests who flout the rules or who hold New Year’s Eve parties without the consent of the host may receive a lifetime ban from Airbnb.

 

Photo source: Michael Discenza for Unsplash

Your Monaco app: the useful tool for everyday living

by: Elsa Carpenter
26/12/2022

Monaco Life tried out the Your Monaco app, a government-backed mobile application that could transform the day-to-day experience of residents and visitors to the Principality.  

Almost everyone today will have a catalogue of applications on their mobile phone. These apps help organise our lives, but having notifications pinging in from dozens of different sources can be a bit overwhelming sometimes. With one app for this and another for that, wouldn’t it be simpler if all that information came from one place? 

The Your Monaco app, launched on 5th December by Minister of State Pierre Dartout and its primary developer, Extended Monaco, could be the solution.  

What is Your Monaco? 

Free to download for all users and available in French, English and Italian, Your Monaco is the result of an extensive collaboration between all ministerial departments of the Monegasque government, the delegation in charge of the Principality’s digital transition, Extended Monaco, and countless private partners who have helped widen and deepen the scope of the app’s capabilities.

The app has been designed with the Monaco resident, commuter and visitor in mind, and centralises a raft of real-time information in an easy-to-use interface that is easily adapted to the needs of each user.  

What services does the app offer?  

Do you commute into Monaco for work and spend precious time hunting down a car parking space or stuck in traffic each morning? The app provides instantaneous information on the capacity of Monaco’s carparks and alerts the user to roadworks and traffic build-ups. Drivers of electric vehicles can check whether there is an available charging station near them too. The app also features up-to-date bus schedules and available Monabikes inside the Principality as well as train information from the surrounding region.  

A weather forecast is available as are other environmental factors, including air quality, pollution levels and the daily allergy risk. Getting the electricity forecast from grid manager SMEG is possible too.  

The app features a guide to each of Monaco’s quartiers, great for those less familiar with the Principality, and a directory of more than 1,000 unique places, from cultural addresses like museums and events spaces to restaurants, gardens and playparks. Handy information such as WiFi hotspots are also included on an interactive map. 

Other daily assistance comes in the form of opening hours for leisure sites – libraries, the pool, the cinema – and Monaco’s markets in the Condamine neighbourhood and on Avenue Saint Charles as well as a list of shops that are open on Sundays. Parents of school and nursery-age children can even check out canteen menus.  

On the sustainability side, residents can get advice on how to sort their household waste and organise their weekly shop with a neat function on seasonal fruit and vegetables.  

A news platform that mixes government-issued updates with local information and an events agenda complete the app’s offerings.  

Users’ favourite sections can be added to the app’s home screen, allowing access to all relevant information at the click of a finger.

How to download Your Monaco

Head to the App Store if you’re an Apple user or the Play Store for Android phones and search Your Monaco.  

For more information and the app’s FAQ, please click here.  

 

 

Photo source: Your Monaco