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Day: 19 April 2024

Monaco Energy Boat Challenge introduces new sustainable technology award for 2024

by: Stephanie Horsman
19/04/2024
Monaco Energy Boat Challenge

The Monaco Energy Boat Challenge, in collaboration with the Fondation Prince Albert II de Monaco, has announced a new category for the 2024 edition of the event that will champion innovative and sustainable solutions for the yachting sector. 

The Monaco Energy Boat Challenge is a yearly event that pits engineers, researchers, students and enthusiasts from all over the globe against their contemporaries in a “thrilling race to design, build and pilot the boats of the future”.  

The recently unveiled Sustainable Yachting Technology Award is set to be one of the hottest categories at this year’s event, which will take place between 1st and 6th July, as it is offering a massive cash grant of €25,000 to the university or research team that comes up with the best design.   

The goal of the new category, and its prize, is to entice universities and research institutions into sharing groundbreaking ideas that could help move the yachting industry onto a greener path. 

From energy efficient projects to emissions-tackling concepts, the one rule that binds entries is that they must have the potential to make a “significant impact” in the yachting sector.  

WHO CAN APPLY?

The award is open to all universities and research facilities regardless of location, though the project must have originated from the establishment and not an outside source.  

Applications must be submitted prior to 30th May, and those who make it through the first round will be informed on 15th June. They will then be asked to come to Monaco to present their projects between 3rd and 5th July. The winner will be announced on the final day of the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge.   

For more information and to apply, click here. 

Read related:

International University of Monaco leads the way in sustainability studies with innovative Master of Science programme

 

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Photo credit: Monaco Energy Boat Challenge

In pictures: Princess Charlene makes a splash at Water Safety Day in Monaco

by: Stephanie Horsman
19/04/2024
water safety day

On behalf of her namesake foundation, Princess Charlene spent a day in the pool teaching water safety to children from around the globe who have come to the Principality to participate in the Sainte Dévote Rugby Tournament. 

The Princess Charlene Foundation played host to a truly special event at Stade Louis II swimming pool on Thursday 18th April, with the Princess herself taking a leading role.  

In all, the Foundation hosted 96 children who have travelled to Monaco to take part in the Sainte Dévote Rugby Tournament on Friday 19th and Saturday 20th April.  

The children were treated to a day in the water, where they participated in a variety of aquatic-based activities, ranging from drowning prevention to first aid and games, such as water polo and diving.  

Princess Charlene was in her element as she conducted courses with the U12 players, many of whom have never experienced this kind of instruction. 

Alongside members of the Monaco Red Cross and the team from the Monegasque Academy of the Sea, Princess Charlene helped teach the international group the basics of water safety and drowning prevention. Photo credit: Eric Mathon / Palais Princier de Monaco

Among the nationalities present were children from South Africa, Ivory Coast, Greece, Mauritius, India, Ecuador, the United States and Georgia, as well as locals from the Principality. 

U12 rugby players from South Africa, Ivory Coast, Greece, Mauritius, India, Ecuador, the United States and Georgia joined local schoolchildren for the Water Safety Day at the Stade Louis II pool. Photo credit: Eric Mathon / Palais Princier de Monaco

The day was supervised by Pierre Frolla and his team from the Monegasque Academy of the Sea, with the support of the Monegasque Red Cross. 

For more on the Princess Charlene Foundation and its work, as well as on the Sainte Dévote Rugby Tournament, click here. 

Click on the images below to see more from the event:

 

Read related:

Rugby: Sainte Dévote Tournament set to return, bigger and better than ever

 

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Photo credit: Eric Mathon / Palais Princier de Monaco

Monaco Explorations prepares for Greek Odyssey mission 

by: Elsa Carpenter
19/04/2024

During his appearance at the Ocean Decade Conference in Barcelona earlier this month, Prince Albert II unveiled the exciting plans for Monaco Explorations’ latest project and mission: a voyage across the Mediterranean that will begin in Greece. 

After the success of its Indian Ocean Mission in 2022, Monaco Explorations has pivoted its focus to a place much closer to home: the Mediterranean Sea. 

Announced on 9th April at a special event preceding the Ocean Decade Conference in Barcelona, the next major project will see the Monaco Explorations team tour an array of destinations within the Mediterranean zone in a bid to better understand the challenges faced by the sea. 

Though no official start date for the mission, which will begin in Greece, has been confirmed, Prince Albert’s aspirations for the project are clear. 

“By virtue of its geographical features and geopolitical situation, the threats it faces and the activities it generates, the Mediterranean is in many ways a laboratory for the challenges that lie ahead for all seas,” he says, “The movement to protect the sea is gaining ground every year. The time has come to accelerate the movement before it’s too late. The first challenge is to strengthen existing marine protected areas, both politically and legally. The second challenge is the expansion of these marine protected areas, which should cover a third of our seas to ensure effective protection.” 

Prince Albert II of Monaco unveiled the Mediterranean Missions plans during his time in Barcelona for the Ocean Decade Conference in early April. Photo credit: J. C. Vinaj

In short, this mission reflects his ambitious goals of achieving 30×30; the Monaco sovereign is seeking to attain protected status for 30% of the Mediterranean Sea by the end of this decade.  

“The Mediterranean is a hotspot for biodiversity,” says Xavier Prache, the director of Monaco Explorations, “[but] it is also one of the world’s most polluted seas and is at the crossroads of multiple civilisations and economies.” 

He continues, “Monaco Explorations’ new Mediterranean Missions expedition will take place over several years around the Mediterranean, under the impetus of Prince Albert, who has long been committed to preserving the Mediterranean along with all the Principality’s stakeholders. In collaboration with all partners involved in the conservation and sustainable management of the Mediterranean environment, Monaco Explorations aims to shine a spotlight on the urgency and importance of accelerated development and effective management of Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean. Supporting initiatives, federating players, pooling resources, explaining, acting in the field, contributing to the dissemination of knowledge, convincing through government action, mediation and science… We’re going to do our utmost to help create the right conditions for the success of this collective undertaking.” 

The Monaco Explorations Society was founded by Prince Albert and unites local specialists and scientists from the Fondation Prince Albert II de Monaco, the Oceanographic Institute – Albert I, Prince of Monaco Foundation, the Centre Scientifique de Monaco and the Yacht Club de Monaco. 

Further information about Monaco Explorations and its projects can be found here. 

Read related:

Prince Albert and Med Donors’ Roundtable announce €57 million pledge to protect the Mediterranean Sea 

 

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Photo source: Julian Muller, Unsplash

 

Special rates offered at new Salines carpark during E-Prix, Historique GP and F1 weekends

by: Elsa Carpenter
19/04/2024
salines grand prix

Ahead of a busy month for motorsports in the Principality, the Monaco Government has announced a series of preferential rates for drivers who use the new Salines carpark. Free shuttle services will also be on offer. 

First will come the Monaco E-Prix on 27th April, then the Historic Grand Prix of Monaco between 10th and 12th May and finally F1’s legendary Monaco Grand Prix from 23rd to 26th May. 

With three big back-to-back events set to draw thousands of spectators to the Principality, the Monaco Government will be putting the recently opened Parking des Salines in the Jardin Exotique neighbourhood to good use, and has announced a number of special rates for the three weekends.

See more: Monaco unveils new ‘park and ride’ facility, Parking Salines

The vast parking lot, which offers close to 1,800 parking spaces, is ideally situated for drivers heading into the Principality via the Moyenne Corniche.  

Thanks to the pedestrianised Galeries des Salines, fans will be able to reach the circuit in less than 15 minutes on foot, but there will also be a free shuttle service, provided passengers can show a valid parking ticket, for those who want to save their energy for the races. 

The shuttles will be departing the carpark every 10 minutes between 8am and 8pm on the race days, stopping first on the Avenue Albert II before heading to Place d’Armes and the bus stop closest to the famous circuit. Return journeys will also be possible. 

“Parking at Salines will allow people to avoid the intense traffic that comes with these kinds of events,” say government sources, “while also benefiting from reduced carparking fees.” 

It can cost €24 to park in the majority of Monaco’s public carparks for four to 12 hours during these events, but drivers can expect to pay less than half that – €11 – if they choose Salines. 

On Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th May, the weekend of the Monaco Grand Prix, drivers will have to dig a little deeper, but Salines remains the cheapest option. On these two days, drivers who drop their cars off before 3pm will have to pay €20 here instead of the €25 demanded by other facilities for three or more hours of parking.  

For more information on the tariffs and shuttle services, click here.  

Read related:

Explained: the new bus routes connecting Salines carpark to central Monaco

 

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Photo source: Antoine Contenseau, Unsplash

 

The wonder of nature: Monaco unveils its plans for 2025 World Expo in Osaka

by: Stephanie Horsman
19/04/2024
world expo monaco

Drawing inspiration from the 2025 World Expo’s future-focused theme, the Monaco Pavilion in Osaka will invite visitors to “rediscover and reclaim nature as wonder”. 

The 2025 World Expo is set to be an extraordinary event. Under the theme of ‘Designing the Society of the Future, Imagining our Life of Tomorrow’, nations from across the globe will gather on a purpose-built island called Yumeshima – Dream Island in English – near the Japanese city of Osaka to share their ideas and visions for life in the future.  

The Principality of Monaco, the first country to receive official approval from the Expo’s organisers for its final design and concept, is leading with a sustainability and nature-focused approach for its pavilion. 

The space will combine Monaco’s interests in environmentalism and conservation with the beauty of the Japanese Garden, an element that is already a feature of the Monegasque landscape. The pavilion’s mission will be to inspire visitors to ‘Take Care of Wonder’. 

“Taking Care of Wonder means realising that by taking care of nature, we also take care of ourselves, and that by taking care of the fragile wonder of this planet, we contribute to the maintenance of our species,” say representatives of the Monaco project. “Take Care of Wonder invites each of us to rediscover and reclaim nature as wonder.” 

The Monaco exhibit at the World Expo will be split into three distinct spaces. The first will invite visitors into an immersive semi-circular environment that sends eye skyward and offers views of the Principality.  

The second will focus on the technology industry in Monaco as well as its agricultural roots, while the third looks to the sea, an enduring source of inspiration for Monaco’s sovereign, Prince Albert II, in a nod to the Principality’s ongoing commitments to ocean protections and preservation. 

Visitors will also be able to explore iconic Monaco landmarks, such as the Palais Princier, the Casino de Monte-Carlo, the cellars of the Hôtel de Paris and the Musée Océanographique, through interactive exhibits.  

The World Expo 2025 Osaka will take place from 13th April to 13th October 2025.  

 

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Photo credit: Jérôme Architecte & Atelier Pierre