The National Council of Monaco is appealing to civic-minded young people to apply to become Junior National Councillors, allowing them the chance to take part in the legislative actions that affect the whole community.
Young politicians, deal-makers and those looking to make changes for the better are being asked to apply to the National Council to become part of their new Junior National Council programme.
The young people selected as Junior National Councillors, who will come from grades cinquième to seconde and must be enrolled at a local school, will be invited to join in at the Grand Chambre where their input will go toward making changes in the current government legislation, including drafting resolutions and even possibly originating new bills.
For those interested in applying and who meet the conditions, go to the National Council website at https://www.conseil-national.mc/ where the application is available, and complete it before 21st February.
Monaco Boost is set to open its doors in April, but first it needs some businesses to house. So, the call has been put out for Monegasque entrepreneurs to take advantage of the Principality’s new business incubator, reserved exclusively for nationals.
Monaco Boost was launched in early January 2021 by the Prince’s Government, in consultation with the National Council, to accelerate the creation and development of new businesses created by entrepreneurs of Monegasque nationality.
Funded by the State, the incubator is located in the Fontvieille district and covers an area over 1,200 square metres and includes offices, shared workspaces, meeting rooms, a cafeteria and an outdoor terrace.
The aim is to provide not only a company address and work space at significantly reduced costs, but a site where companies can accelerate their growth and develop their contacts, eventually contributing to the Monaco economy.
“With Monaco Boost, and following a vote in the spring of 2020 by the National Council of a bill … to introduce the free domicile of an activity in a residential apartment, Monegasque entrepreneurs now have all the assets to start and develop their business,” said the National Council on its social media networks.
The call for applications is open until 26th February and the first entrepreneurs are expected to move in by April 2021. Monaco Boost can house a total of 108 businesses.
The Allocation Committee will be chaired by the Minister of Finance and Economy and will be comprised of representatives from the National Council, the State Property Authority, the Business Development Agency and the SAM Monaco Boost.
For start-ups who are not Monegasque nationals, the Principality’s first incubator, Monaco Tech, is due to put out its call for applicants by the end of March/early April.
Photo by Michael Alesi for the Government Communication Department
Prince Albert II and Monaco’s representative for the Vendée Globe sailing race, Boris Herrmann, have united for the first Ocean Decade high-profile event, A Brave New Ocean.
“It’s such an incredibly important but fragile relationship that we have with nature,” Prince Albert II declared during the first online event to kick off the UN’s Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development on Wednesday.
They are simple yet powerful words from a man who has dedicated much of his adult life to the preservation of the environment, with a special emphasis on oceans. This is not surprising given Monaco’s maritime locale and traditional close ties to the sea, but the Prince’s interest runs deeper than that.
“Half the air we breathe comes from the ocean. We harbour so many different species, the vast majority of the species in the biosphere are in the ocean. For all these reasons, and we know this for a fact, to keep the ocean’s ecosystems in a healthy way, life on Earth will be healthier. Planetary health is essential to human health,” he told a global audience.
A Brave New Ocean brought together world leaders, scientists, UN agency heads and personalities who are engaged in ocean action.
Amongst them was skipper of the Seaexplorer-Yacht Club de Monaco Boris Herrmann, who just completed the around the world solo race the Vendée Globe. He spoke from the seaside, with his infant child strapped to his chest, stressing the importance of research and preservation.
“We collected ocean data on the boat for the fully-automated laboratory that pumps water from the keel 24/7 through a system that measures all sorts of things – salinity, the Ph, water temperature – and I believe it is … the first time that an entire trek around the world has been tracked in this nature, especially around Antarctica. There’s no shipping so there’s no data.”
He added on a more personal note: “Something for the Ocean Decade to go forward is to show the public how important the ocean is for us. We don’t want to tell our kids at the end of the decade that there won’t be any coral for them to see.”
The UN has an ambitious agenda for protecting and preserving the seas for their Ocean Decade. They are asking nations to help them meet the lofty goals of reducing or removing pollutants to create healthy and resilient oceans as well as supporting sustainability in fishing whilst protecting livelihoods.
“To reestablish the link between man and nature is vital for our survival,” Prince Albert, who was one of the first to back the concept of Ocean Decade, concluded in his message. “If we leave all the different ecosystems alone, they will rebound at a rapid rate.”
To watch the virtual A Brave New Ocean event, click here.
Photo compilation of Prince Albert and Boris Herrmann during the virtual A Brave New Ocean event by Monaco Life
AS Monaco Basketball won a solid victory in their Jeep Elite match against ESSM Le Portel on Saturday night, a much-needed confidence boost after their defeat last week against Badalone.
The Roca Team had a solid 82-60 win at home at Gaston Médecin in their match against Le Portel. It’s not a huge surprise they came out swinging after their disappointing defeat in their last match, a Euro Cup 7 game, against Spanish team Badalone.
This game was a far cry from that nail biter. Team Captain Dee Bost scored eight points in four minutes and the team started the match with an impressive 14 to two lead. They didn’t let up throughout the rest of the match, only trailing behind once in the second quarter.
Whilst all games are important to some degree, the general feeling was that this match was a practice run for the big Euro Cup 7 rematch against Badalone on Tuesday, where the Roca boys hope to pay them back after their devastating loss last week.
“The result was satisfactory, as is the manner. Le Portel is a good team. We kept first place and we are ready for Tuesday against Badalone,” said Coach Zvezdan Mitrovic, rarely one to gush, after the game.
“Tuesday will be a great European match (against Badalone),” added Monaco rear Rob Gray. “We prepared well tonight, Le Portel had energy, they had not played for two weeks. We were solid collectively, we had to defend our first place.”
Monaco made 27 shots out of 64 on the night with 12 out of 34 points made on three-pointers. They captured 38 rebounds, with Damien Inglis having seven on his own, 14 assists and 12 steals.
Rob Gray was high scorer with 18 points, Dee Bost came in just behind him with 16 followed by Mathias Lessort and Abdoulaye Ndoye with eight each.
Monaco will host their new nemesis, Badalone, at home on 2nd February at 7pm.
(Monaco Life with ASM Basketball press release, photo by AS Monaco Basketball)
Boris Herrmann, skipper of the Seaexplorer-Yacht Club de Monaco, is heading into the final day of the Vendée Globe in second place and it’s going to be a thrilling race to the finish line.
After 80 days of sailing solo around the world, the skippers competing in this year’s Vendée Globe are due to start crossing the finish line on Wednesday afternoon. Computer modelling from the current weather predictions suggest three solo skippers could finish within four hours of each other.
The Principality is holding its breath for Boris Herrmann who, earlier this week, revealed his end game strategy.
“My choice of route for the next few days is a mixture of the results of the calculated routings and the precise moment of the wind shift here on site. I think the last day will be super exciting and the finish itself as well, as we will all be following the same route coming from the northwest – it will certainly be pure speed racing on the 450-mile home stretch.”
Since Sunday, the leaders have opted for two separate routes.
“There were two main options, north or east,” said Louis Burton (Bureau Vallée 2), who conceded first place to Charlie Dalin (Apivia) on Sunday and now sits in third.
Burton, Herrmann and Dalin were on the eastern option at the latitude of Portugal and over 200 miles west of the trio at the northern group were Thomas Ruyant, Yannick Bestaven and Damien Seguin. Between these two options, the choices were almost infinite with more than 200 possible routes to be run. AU large de Lorient, entrainement en naviguation de Boris Herrmann sur le monocoque 60 pieds IMOCA SEAEXPLORER-Yacht Club de Monaco
Herrmann says he will enter the Bay of Biscay at full speed, just before the strong low approaches from the west.
“It will be incredibly exciting and tight. Positions may still change at that point, and the compensation time of over 10 hours for Yannick Bestaven is of course enormous. If we are sailing at a speed of 20 knots, that means 80 nautical miles covered in four hours. So, Yannick can be 80 miles behind me and still fight.”
With the wind on the Bay of Biscay due to strengthen for those chasing the leaders in on Wednesday into Thursday morning, it is still possible that fifth placed Yannick Bestaven can arrive and steal a podium position, even victory, because of his 10hrs and 15 minutes of time recompense given for his role in helping search for Kevin Escoffier after the French skipper had to abandon his boat.
Herrmann says he’s now hit the boat speed sweet spot for his VPLP Verdier design onto which he added new, bigger foils last spring.
“We are liking the flatter water for sure. Strategy-wise we are on another page. This race will be to the finish line and maybe a few seconds after that until we make the calculations as to who actually will compose the podium.”
To see the yacht tracker, visit the Boris Herrmann racing website here: https://www.borisherrmannracing.com
Watch the race ending live on the Vendee Globe Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/VendeeGlobe/posts/10164715936440187
The annual Pink Ribbon Monaco walk scheduled for Valentine’s Day has been cancelled due to the ongoing health crisis, but organisers are asking that people still get the word out in a fun and safe way.
This year, Pink Ribbon is putting out a call to action, asking supporters to post a photo, selfie or group snap of themselves on Instagram wearing pink or holding a sign to raise awareness about breast cancer and to encourage yearly screenings for early detection. Along with the photos, they ask that the words #pinkribbonmonaco and #seinvalentin be added, as well as the more cheeky #ilovemyboobs, #itouchmyself and #checkyourboobs.
The hashtag #seinvalentin is a play on words in French – saint and sein (the word for breast) being the same pronunciation.
Created in 2011, Pink Ribbon Monaco’s goal is to raise awareness about breast cancer screening and prevention methods through campaigns and events. The association works closely with the government, the Ministry of Health and Social Services, and medical professionals from the Princess Grace Hospital Centre, encouraging healthy lifestyles and regular screenings.
According to the American Cancer Society, all women aged 40-54 should have annual mammograms and screenings regardless of family history or symptoms and women over 55 should have a mammogram once every two years for as many years as possible.
Early detection of breast cancer gives those who have the disease more treatment options, an increased chance of survival and a better quality of life. When caught at the very earliest stages and is localised, the five year survival rate is 100%.
Photo by Pink Ribbon Monaco
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