Premier Magazine PH Vol. 3 - Issue 1 January 2023 Ars Longa, Vita Brevis

Pr emier SAPERE AUDE ISSN2799-0702 Vol. 3.1 JANUARY, 2023 ISSUE

ON THE BACK COVER (OBC) The Astronomical Clock, also called Prague Orloj, is a significant landmark of Old Town Square. Situated on the southern wall of Prague Town Hall, it is a compelling sight that it has become the most photographed landmark by tourists visiting the beautiful capital city of the Czech Republic. The clock is unusual in that, in addition to indicating the 24 hours of the day, the astronomical dial shows the position of the sun and the moon in the sky, along with other astronomical information.

The Prague Astronomical Clock was first installed in 1410. This makes it the world's third-oldest astronomical clock and the oldest in operation. The lower calendar dial was added in around 1490. Around the same time, incredible gothic statues were also added.

Much like the La Sagrada Familia, the clock has withstood the test of time and symbolizes the connection between nature and one's religious beliefs. There are also four figurines on the side of the clock dial or astrolabe. They suggest the allegories of Death, Greed, Lust, and Vanity. The figurines move their heads and hands when the clock rings to signalize every hour from 9 am to 11 pm. They are joined by 12 Apostles and a Golden Rooster whose crow ends the procession and the movement of the allegories. www.tours-prague.eu © Renate Dodell

ABOUT THE COVER The Sagrada Familia is a famous Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, Spain, designed by Antoni Gaudi. Gaudi primarily combined Gothic and curvilinear Art Nouveau forms to create this masterpiece. This construction commenced in 1882 and came to a temporary halt in 1926 when Gaudi died. While the construction resumed later, the church is still being built and is anticipated to be completed by 2026, marking Gaudi's death's centennial.

Although incomplete, Sagrada Familia attracts millions of tourists who witness its exquisite beauty every year.

THE NAVE La Sagrada Familia utilizes three-dimensional forms of ruled surfaces, including hyperboloids, parabolas, helicoids, and conoids. These complex shapes allow for a thinner, finer structure and are intended to enhance the temple's acoustics and quality of light. Gaudi used plaster models to develop the design, including a 1:10 scale model of the central nave measuring five meters in height and width by two meters in depth. He also devised a system of strings and weights suspended from a plan of the temple on the ceiling. He derived the necessary angles of the columns, vaults, and arches from this inverted model. This is evident in the slanted columns of the Passion facade, which recall tensile structures but act in compression.

The central nave soars to a height of 45 meters and is designed to resemble a forest of multi-hued piers in Montjuïc and granite. The piers change in cross-section from base to terminus, increasing the number of vertices from polygonal to circular. The slender, bifurcating columns draw the eye upward, where light filters through circular apertures in the vaults. These are finished in Venetian green and gold glass tiles, articulating the hyperboloids' lines.

In December 2022, a new milestone of Gaudí's Sagrada Familia in Barcelona illuminated the terminals on the towers of the Evangelists Luke and Mark, celebrating the completion of these two new structures that reach 135 meters in height. Together with the tower of the Virgin Mary, inaugurated in December 2021, 3 of the six central towers will be completed.

The figures of the tetramorph made of Thassos marble are the work of sculptor Xavier Medina Campeny. The upper wings, a common element for the four towers of the Evangelists, "are generated with the last ruled geometry used by Gaudí, a large elliptical hyperboloid," says Jordi Faulí, architect director of the Sagrada Familia.

Through a press release, they point out that the forecast is to finish the tower of Jesus Christ in 2026, coinciding with the centenary of the death of Antoni Gaudí. That same year, Barcelona is scheduled to be the World Capital of Architecture (UIA-UNESCO).

Cover photo courtesy of Renate Dodell for La Sagrada Familia/ Antoni Gaudi - Tiled Vault

Lights and Colours The use of lights and colours to set the mood of Sagrada Familia's interiors is yet another highlight of Gaudi's work that also makes the church so close to looking like paradise.

The large, vibrant stained glass windows of the Sagrada Familia paint the basilica's interior with beautiful red, green, blue, and yellow hues. To achieve this balance between the colours of the glass and natural light, the arrangement has been made such that brightly coloured windows are placed at the bottom, and the translucent windows are on top. This lights up the interiors creating the perfect setting for prayer and meditation.

The colours on each of the windows come with sacred representations. The yellow, green, and blue on the Nativity portal symbolize poverty, light, and the birth of Christ, whereas the red, yellow, and orange on the Passion portal allude to water, resurrection, and light. © sagradafamilia.barcelona

IN THIS ISSUE "Originality implies a return to the origins; original is returning

to the simplicity of the first solutions."

ANTONÍ GAUDÍ The great works of men. The pioneers. The ultimate influencers who transformed the world with their passions. This was our working theme for this issue. However, we were sidetracked by many equally exciting things that go with a name like Gaudi. He created architecture so great that it continued to exist after his lifetime.

Generations fortunate to witness something unfinished gave La Sagrada de Familia a life of its own. A living structure made by men of incredible talent and vision and crafted from one hand to another.

Spanish Late Gothic, Art Nouveau, and Modernista. These are the architectural styles you'll find in a Gaudi masterpiece. A homage to the Master Creator and Nature. His work signaled many cultural transitions, leading us to another exciting name, Jack Kerouac, who, like Gaudi, continues to influence society to counter-culture (the 1960s) even after his demise.

The legendary British floral designer Constance Spry changed how the world looked at flowers. Her creations continue to amaze and inspire florists/ horticulturists globally and fans from many fields, like fashion, fine arts, and even films like The Great Gatsby. She brought us to the magnificent works of husband and wife team Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin, who perfectly defined their projects' opulence. Still, they never forgot the moral lesson - that love always outshines gold.

Indeed we thrive on great symbolism and momentous events. But more importantly, we focus on preserving our cultural gems and putting Nature first. Time is of the essence, and forward-looking, numerous things must be done without compromising our existence, our world. As Gaudi said, "Creation continues unceasingly through man's means of communication. But man does not create? He discovers. Those who seek the laws of Nature to support their new works collaborate with the creator. Copyists do not collaborate. Because of this, originality consists in going back to the origin."

The Publisher

THE CRYPT

© sagradafamilia.barcelona

The Sagrada Familia Crypt The crypt, located one level below the apse of the Basilica, is the resting place of Antoni Gaudi, the man behind the Sagrada Familia.

It consists of four chapels dedicated to the Virgin of El Carmen (the site of Gaudí's tomb), Christ, the Virgin of Montserrat, and Christ on the Cross (the location of the tomb of Josep María Bocabella). When you look toward the sky, you'll see a beautiful sculpted image of the Annunciation to Mary, right at the point where the arches of the crypt meet. You'll see that the crypt floor is covered in a breathtaking mosaic of Roman origin.

THE APSE

The Apse The apse, a semi-circular structure with a dome, is generally part of a cathedral where the altar lies. Gaudi ensured the apse of the Basilica felt light and open and designed it so that natural light from the outdoors would spill into it. The apse houses seven chapels dedicated to the seven sorrows of joys of Saint Joseph. © Till Beckman

High Columns As you walk through the cathedral, you will be struck by the sheer enormity of construction. Gaudi has been known to use nature as a muse, and the massive columns within the cathedral have been built to resemble trees growing in a forest, leaving you with the illusion of walking through a botanical garden rather than a site of religious worship.

ANTONI GAUDI © sagradafamilia.barcelona

Antoni Gaudi 1852 - 1926 Architect and designer Antoni Gaudi is the most internationally prestigious figure in Spanish architecture.

Born in Reus, Catalonia, he graduated in Barcelona in 1878, and this city became the center of his activities.

One important aspect is his capacity as a designer.

This led him to create, in close collaboration with some of the outstanding artisans of his time, all those elements making up architectural space - wrought iron, furniture, stained glass, sculptural work, mosaics, ceramics, and so on - within an organic concept of decoration and with the integration of these elements into the construction process.

The sea landscape was one of his most preferred inspirations.

In his own time, Gaudi was admired and criticized for the audacity and singularity of his innovative solutions. His fame on a world scale has become an unquestioned fact both in specialized circles and among the general public.

Pedro Uhart Works of Antoni Gaudí Seven properties built by the architect Antoni Gaudí (1852?1926) in or near Barcelona testify to Gaudí's exceptional creative contribution to the development of architecture and building technology in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These monuments represent an eclectic, as well as a very personal, style that was given free rein in the design of gardens, sculpture, and all decorative arts and architecture. The seven buildings are Parque Güell; Palacio Güell; Casa Mila; Casa Vicens; Gaudí's work on the Nativity façade and Crypt of La Sagrada Familia; Casa Batlló; Crypt in Colonia Güell.

The description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0 Antoni Gaudí I Cornet was a Catalan architect who has become internationally recognized as one of the most prodigious experts in his discipline, as well as one of the top exponents of modernism. His exceptional ground-breaking genius made him the inventor of a unique, personal, and incomparable architectural language that defies classification.

Childhood of Antoni Gaudí According to some biographers, Antoni Gaudí was born on the 25th of June 1852 in Reus, although others claim that he was born in Riudoms, a small village near Reus where his family spent their summers. He came from a family of boilermakers, which allowed the young Gaudí to acquire a particular skill for working with space and volume as he helped his father and grandfather in the family workshop. His talent for designing spaces and transforming materials grew and prospered until it eventually metamorphosed into a veritable genius for three-dimensional creation.

Gaudí's health was delicate as a child, so he had to spend long hours resting at the summer house in Riudoms. There, he passed many an hour contemplating and storing up in his mind the secrets of nature, which he thought of as his supreme mistress and ultimate teacher of the highest knowledge, being the crowning achievement of the Creator.

Gaudí once said: "originality consists of going back to the origins." as such, Antoni Gaudí found the essence and the meaning of architecture by following the same patterns of nature and by always respecting its laws. He did not copy it but instead traced its course through cooperation. In that context, he created the most beautiful, sustainable, and practical work possible through his architecture.

Architect ural st udies In 1870 he moved to Barcelona to pursue his academic career in architecture, at the same time working at various jobs to enable him to pay for his studies. He was an inconsistent student, but he was already showing some evidence of brilliance that opened doors for him, allowing him to collaborate with some of his professors. W hen he completed his studies at the School of Architecture in 1878, the Director, Elies Rogent, declared: "I do not know if we have awarded this degree to a madman or a genius; only time will tell." Undeniably, however, the young architect's ideas were not a mere repetition of things that had already been done up to that time, nor could anybody receive them with indifference.

THE CHAPEL

The Sagrada Familia Crypt The crypt, which houses Gaudí?s tomb, is a chapel where the masses are celebrated regularly. It is located under the apse and can be accessed by a staircase. The crypt is surmounted by a large vault adorned with an image of the Annunciation to Mary.

There are four chapels inside the Sagrada Familia, each with its unique dedicatee: The Virgin of Carmel, where Gaudí is buried; Jesus Christ; the Virgin of Montserrat; and Crucified Christ, which houses Josep María Bocabella's tomb. The crypt's floor is decorated with a Roman mosaic, representing ears of wheat and vines.

UNESCO protects the crypt as a World Heritage site.

© Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Familia

Above and beyond his relationship with Güell, Gaudí received many commissions and proposed numerous projects. Many of these, fortunately, were transformed into reality, but some never made it off the paper.

During his mature period, masterpieces followed one after another: the Bellesguard Tower, Park Güell, the restoration of Mallorca Cathedral, the church on the Güell Estate, Casa Batlló, La Pedrera, and lastly, the Church of the Sagrada Familia.

Surprisingly, the magnificence of Antoni Gaudí's architecture coincided, as the result of a personal decision by the architect, with a progressive withdrawal by the man himself. Gaudí, who in his youth had frequented theatres, concerts, and tertulias (social gatherings), went from being a young dandy with gourmet tastes to neglecting his appearance, eating frugally and distancing himself from social life while simultaneously devoting himself ever more fervently to religious and mystical sentiment.

Gaudí died on the 10th of June 1926 after being knocked down by a tram while making his way, as he did every evening, to the Sagrada Família from the Church of Sant Felip Neri. After being struck, he lost consciousness, and nobody suspected that this disheveled old man who was not carrying any identity papers was the famous architect. He was taken to the Santa Cruz Hospital, where the Priest of the Sagrada Família later recognized him. He was buried two days later in that same church, following a funeral attended by throngs of people: most of the citizens of Barcelona came out to bid a final farewell to the universal architect that the city had ever known.

https:// www.casabatllo.es/ en/ antoni-gaudi/

At Foros 2022, Andrea Deplazes and Jordi Fauli i Oller remind architects not to forget critical thinking when applying new digital technologies.

On 9 March, a new session of the lecture series Foros 2022, organized by the UIC Barcelona School of Architecture, took place at the UIC Barcelona Aula Magna lecture theatre. Under the title "Evolving Technologies," the event was hosted by architects Andrea Deplazes, lecturer of architecture and construction at the prestigious ETH Zurich Polytechnic Institute (Switzerland), and Jordi Fauli i Oller, director, and coordinator of construction work at the Sagrada Familia. Lecturer Juan Trias de Bes, director of the series, moderated the session.

In their speech, both speakers agreed on the wide range of opportunities that new digital technologies have opened up in architecture and construction. Still, at the same time, they stressed the need for architects not to abandon critical thinking in their profession.

Jordi Fauli i Oller presented concrete examples of how new digital technology is being applied to the audience at the Sagrada Familia site. These included digital scanning techniques, experimentation with new materials, robotic construction techniques, and the pre-assembly of prototypes and construction elements. "The construction of the Sagrada Familia has always been a challenge. In our case, the use of new technology has always been focused on preserving Gaudí's original plan and understanding the geometrical complexity of the temple," he said.

Andrea Deplazes described some of the projects based on experimentation with new design and digital manufacturing tools that are being developed by his firm Bearth + Deplazes in collaboration with ETH Zurich studies. One that stood out was the "New Monte Rosa Hut" project, a mountaineering hut built at an altitude of over 2,000 meters using a parametric design of prefabricated wooden sections. "The most interesting part of the project was working with the help of students, who learned that parametric design is about critical thinking, not simply combining elements arbitrarily. The role of the architect does not change," he explained. At the end of his speech, Deplazes announced the upcoming creation of the Spanish Institute for Technologies and Roboting in Architecture, which will be based in Pamplona.

Foros 2022 was organized under the theme "The leap into the void." his new series promotes self-awareness in the current world of architecture, in all its different aspects and fields of application, a new feature the lecture series introduced a new format based on a two-way dialogue between professionals from the sector and the industry's challenges in sessions structured by topics relevant to architectural practice today. https:// www.uic.es/

INVERSE

Jordi Faulí i Oller In 2012, Jordi Faulí i Oller took over as the project's architect and the current director architect of the Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Familia. He joined the team of architects working on the basilica in 1990 when Armengol was the director. Under him, new technologies such as CAD, computer simulation, and 3D images were used to create a virtual plan of the temple so that the design envisioned by Gaudí could be recreated. In October 2015, Oller announced that 70% of the construction of Sagrada Familia as complete.

THE 7TH ARCHITECT © Arquitectura Catalana

LIQUID SKY

© Todd Heiden

THE ICONIC SAGRADA FAMILIA FACADES A facade is a view that a few towers combine and create for the viewer. The Sagrada Familia has three significant views, each dedicated to a different aspect of the life of Jesus. Four of the eight complete towers are part of the Nativity facade, and four are part of the Passion facade.

The Nativity Facade, facing east, is the oldest among the three and is dedicated to the birth of Jesus.

The Passion Facade, facing west, is dedicated to Christ's Passion/ death/ resurrection.

The third is the Glory Facade, facing south, which will act as the main facade of the basilica and is dedicated to the glorious nature of Jesus even after his death.

Like the rest of the façade, they were made by Subirachs. Go to them to see how the artist has played with lettering, artistically carved onto them in negative.

The scenes on the double central door show fragments from the New Testament, telling the last days of Jesus according to the Gospel of St. Matthew on the left and that of St. John on the right. The two are separated by a mullion bearing the Greek letters Alpha and Omega, the symbols of the beginning and the end. There are two other doors on either side, flanking the middle one. The one on the left is called the Gethsemane Door, as its theme is Jesus's prayer in the garden. The door on the right is known as the Coronation Door, as it shows Jesus humiliated by the crown of thorns, a robe, and a reed, in mockery of his status as King of the Jews. Behind these doors lies a floor of hard, resistant porphyry decorated with scenes from the gospels, such as Christ entering Jerusalem.

The square with numbers on it next to the door is similar to one of those Sudoku's magic squares. You will see that the sum of any row or column is 33, the age of Jesus when He died.

Source: Museum and monuments multimedia guides

Official Name: Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família Attraction Type: Church Status: Minor Basilica Location: C/ de Mallorca, 401, 08013 Barcelona, Spain (Directions) Founded: 1882 Area: 90 metres (length), 60 metres (width), 45 metres (nave width), 170 metres (spire height) Architectural Style: Spanish Late Gothic, Art Nouveau and Modernista.

Main Architect: Antoni Gaudi

THE NATIVITY FACADE

Details of The Nativity Facade © Famke Veenstra

© Ralph Larmann

INSPIRATION FROM NATURE

© Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Familia

Inspiration from Nature The elements of nature in Gaudi's work can also be called Biomimetic architecture. As a rule in the structure, Gaudi avoided straight lines and angles because one barely finds any in nature.

Two pillars are shown to be held by a tortoise and a turtle at the base representing the earth and the sea.

The columns are created as tree trunks to give visitors the feeling of standing deep in a forest. They also branch out, creating an illusion of a canopy of palm trees.

Other structural elements inspired by the natural world include The spiral stairway, Catenary arches. The roofs are shaped like conoids? the altar with a canopy decorated with grape vines. Ornamental components like the vine-shaped frieze, honeycomb gates, windows shaped like diatom, and animals displaced by the church's construction depicted in the gargoyles and pinnacles that form pyrite crystals and grasses are representations of natural elements.

THE TOW ERS

Gaudí's Sagrada Familia in Barcelona has illuminated the terminals on the Evangelists Luke and Mark towers, celebrating the completion of these two new structures that reach 135 meters in height. Together with the tower of the Virgin Mary, inaugurated in December 2021, 3 of the six central towers will be completed.

As designed by Gaudí, the tops of the towers represent the evangelists with the corresponding figure of the tetramorph. Last December 16th, the sculpture of the ox, which tops the tower of the Evangelist Luke, and the statue of the lion, which represents the Evangelist Mark, were illuminated.

Cortesía de Sagrada Familia

A NEW MILESTONE

Esteve Camps, President Delegate of the Construction Board of the Temple Expiatori of the Sagrada Familia, points out that "the Sagrada Familia is currently focusing its efforts on the completion of the core of the central towers (...) by the end of 2023, we expect to have completed the towers of Matthew and John, which would allow us to inaugurate the entire set of the Evangelists".

Cortesía de Sagrada Familia

UN Secretary-General lays out 2023 priorities: Urgent call to act now before it?s too late

As of this writing, a series of earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria and is in their second week of search and rescue. Geologists say that it is one of the most major, if not the worst, disasters ever to happen in decades claiming 30,000 deaths and still increasing. An outpouring of support from different parts of the world arrived to extend their support. It took a 7.5 magnitude earthquake to bring people from around the world to realize the value of human lives goes beyond political beliefs, race, and other issues. The horrific event may have broken people's hearts, but it also showed us hope and faith in humanity. - PremierMagPh

?Act decisively before it is too late?, Guterres warns countries, laying out his priorities for 2023 Addressing the General Assembly in New York, he appealed for urgent action now to achieve peace, economic rights and development, climate action, respect for diversity, and inclusive societies ? both today and for generations to come. Before unfolding his 2023 roadmap, the Secretary-General extended condolences to the families of the victims of the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, adding that the UN is mobilizing to support the response.

Right s-based approach Mr. Guterres stressed the need for transformation this year, grounded in the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. ?As we look to priorities for this year, a rights-rooted approach is central to achieving our ultimate priority: a safer, more peaceful, more sustainable world,? he said, urging countries to "act decisively before it is too late."

Doomsday Clock t icking The UN chief began by referring to t he new s t hat t he symbolic Doomsday Clock - developed more t han 75 years ago by atomic scient ist s to measure humanit y?s proximit y to midnight , or self-dest ruct ion - w as just 90 seconds aw ay from t hat hour.

The Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, t he climate emergency, rising nuclear t hreat s, and t he undermining of global norms and inst it ut ions have pushed t he world closer to annihilat ion. ?This is t he closest t he clock has ever stood to humanit y?s darkest hour ? closer t han even during t he height of t he Cold War. In t rut h, t he Doomsday Clock is a global alarm clock. We need to w ake up ? and get to work,? he said.

Think of tomorrow Stressing that ?we need a course correction?, the UN chief said action is possible, however politicians and decision makers lack the strategic vision to see beyond the short term. This ?preference for the present?only focuses on the next poll, power move, or business cycle, making the future ?someone else?s problem? ? a mindset he described as deeply irresponsible, immoral, and self-defeating. ?My message today comes down to this: Don?t focus solely on what may happen to you today ? and dither. Look at what will happen to all of us tomorrow ? and act,? the UN chief said.

© UNICEF/ Diego Ibarra Sánchez. A man mourns his deceased best friend at a cemetery in Bucha, Ukraine. ?A t ime for t ransformat ion?

The international community has an obligation to act, he continued, as ?this is not a time for tinkering?but, rather, ?a time for transformation.? Action should be grounded in the UN Charter, the Organization?s founding document, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which turns 75 this year. ?W hen I look at human rights in the broadest sense ? with a 21st century lens ? I see a roadmap out of the dead end,?he said, noting that it begins with the right to peace.

Work for peace

W ith the Russian invasion of Ukraine last February 24 inflicting untold suffering on the country?s population, and far beyond, prospects for peace keep diminishing while the risk of further escalation and bloodshed keeps growing. ?I fear the world is not sleepwalking into a wider war. It is doing so with its eyes wide open. The world needs peace. Peace in line with the United Nations Charter and international law,? he said. ?We must work harder for peace everywhere.?

Mr. Guterres referred to the situations in the Middle East, where the two-State solution between Palestine and Israel is becoming more distant; in Afghanistan, where women?s rights are being trampled; in the Sahel, where insecurity is rising; in Myanmar, which is facing new cycles of violence and repression, and in Haiti, where gang violence is holding the entire country hostage.

'A time for transformation' Recommit to t he UN Charter

?If every country fulfilled its obligations under the Charter, the right to peace would be guaranteed,? he said. ?It is time to transform our approach to peace by recommitting to the Charter - putting human rights and dignity first, with prevention at the heart.?

The Secretary-General called for ?a holistic view of the peace continuum? that identifies root causes of conflict and focuses on prevention, mediation, reconciliation, peacebuilding and greater participation of women and young people. These are among the UN?s proposed New Agenda for Peace, aimed at addressing both old and new threats, and maximizing coalitions for diplomacy, as evidenced by the Black Sea Grain Initiative which is operating even amid the war in Ukraine.

Nuclear w ar risk

This year also marks the 75th anniversary of UN Peacekeeping, which will see increased commitment to reform, he added. Mr. Guterres also called for bringing disarmament and arms control ?back to the centre? to both reduce strategic threats from nuclear arms and work towards their total elimination. ?We are at the highest risk in decades of a nuclear war that could start by accident or design,? he warned, urging countries with nuclear arms to renounce these ?unconscionable weapons?.

Transform global finance

W ith poverty and hunger rising, developing countries drowning in debt, and social safety nets frayed, among other signs, the Secretary-General called for ?radical transformation? of the global financial architecture. This will require new commitment and resolve, including to address the appalling inequalities and injustices exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the response to the global crisis.

New determination will also be needed to ensure developing countries have a greater voice in global financial institutions, and that vulnerable nations, including middle-income countries, can have access to debt relief and restructuring. Multilateral Development Banks in particular, must change their business model and leverage their funds to attract more private capital that can be invested to help developing countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) before the 2030 deadline. ?W ithout fundamental reforms, the richest countries and individuals will continue to pile up wealth, leaving crumbs for the communities and countries of the Global South,?he cautioned.

Sust ainable development in danger

This year will also provide opportunities to ?rescue? the SDGs, such as the Summit of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) next month and another in September devoted to the goals. W ith the SDGs ?disappearing in the rearview mirror?, countries should come to the summit with clear benchmarks on tackling poverty and exclusion, and on advancing gender equality.

However, the world must unite now to mobilize resources, said Mr. Guterres, so that developing economies have the liquidity to invest in education, universal healthcare, pandemic preparedness, decent work and social protection.

Climate action ?reckoning?

Climate act ion ?reckoning?

As the right to development goes together with the right to a clean, healthy, sustainable environment, ?we must end the merciless, relentless, senseless war on nature,? said Mr. Guterres, repeating a message that has become a mantra for his tenure. ?2023 is a year of reckoning. It must be a year of game-changing climate action. We need disruption to end the destruction.?

Countries are hurtling past the 1.5-degree limit on global temperature rise, therefore focus must be on the urgent priorities of cutting greenhouse gas emissions and achieving climate justice.

Shift to green energy He said global emissions must be halved this decade, including through ?far more ambitious action? in shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy, especially in the G20 group of industrialized nations.

Additionally, businesses, cities, regions and financial institutions that have pledged net-zero carbon emissions, must present their transition plans, with credible and ambitious targets, by this September. ?I have a special message for fossil fuel producers and their enablers scrambling to expand production and raking in monster profits. If you cannot set a credible course for net-zero, with 2025 and 2030 targets covering all your operations, you should not be in business,?said Mr. Guterres.

Deliver on COP27 pledges Climate action is impossible without adequate finance, and the Secretary-General urged richer countries to, at minimum, deliver on promises made at the UN COP27 climate change conference in Egypt last year.

These commitments include establishing a fund to address loss and damage, doubling adaptation funding, and advancing plans on early warning systems globally within the next five years.

The Secretary-General will convene a Climate Ambition Summit in September, ahead of the COP28 conference in the United Arab Emirates in December. It will be open to all government, business and society leaders, he said, though under one condition: ?Show us accelerated action in this decade and renewed ambitious net zero plans ? or please don?t show up.?

Diversit y under at t ack Turning to his fourth priority, Mr. Guterres spoke of how respect for diversity and the universality of cultural rights are under attack, as evidenced in part by the rise in antisemitism, anti-Muslim bigotry, the persecution of Christians, racism and white supremacist ideology. At the same time, ethnic and religious minorities, refugees, migrants, indigenous people and the LGBTQI-plus community, are increasingly targeted for hate, both online and off.

Meanwhile, many people in positions of power are profiting from caricaturing diversity as a threat, sowing division and hatred, while social media platforms use algorithms that amplify toxic ideas and funnel extremist views into the mainstream.

Fight ing hate online The Secretary-General underlined the UN?s commitment to protecting cultural rights and diversity, including through programmes on the Holocaust and the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, as well as its Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech. ?We will call for action from everyone with influence on the spread of mis- and disinformation on the internet ? Governments, regulators, policymakers, technology companies, the media, civil society,?he said. ?Stop the hate. Set up strong guardrails. Be accountable for language that causes harm.?

Climate Visuals/ Supratim Bhattacharjee. Tidal waves on Namkhana Island, West Bengal, India, flood coastal communities. ?Pat riarchy pushing back W ith half of humanity ?held back by the most widespread human rights abuse of our time,? the UN chief underscored the right to full gender equality. He especially emphasized the plight of women and girls in Afghanistan, now ?exiles in their own country? due to laws banning them from public life, and their counterparts in Iran, who have taken to the streets to demand fundamental human rights at great personal cost.

Gender discriminat ion is global, he said, and t hings are get t ing worse. ?We face an intense pushback against the rights of women and girls. Women?s sexual and reproductive rights and legal protections are under threat. At the international level, some governments now oppose even the inclusion of a gender perspective in multilateral negotiations,? he said. Gender equality is fundamentally a question of power, and the patriarchy is reasserting itself, he said, but the UN is fighting back and standing up for the rights of women and girls everywhere, including in its own ranks.

Mr. Guterres also pledged to ?double down? on support for measures towards greater gender equality, including quotas to close gaps in women?s representation, in elections, corporate board rooms and peace negotiations. ?Pandemic?of right s violat ions Meanwhile, the civil and political rights that are the basis of inclusive societies are also under threat, as democracy is in retreat. ?The pandemic was used as cover for a pandemic of civil and political rights violations,?said Mr. Guterres, warning that civic space ?is vanishing before our eyes?.

He reported on threats such as repressive laws that restrict freedom of expression, new technologies that serve as a guise for controlling freedom of assembly or even movement, and the increase in attacks against the media. Through the Secretary-General's Call to Action for Human Rights, the UN is working to advance fundamental freedoms, promote civil society participation, and protect civic space around the world. ?And we are strengthening our support for laws and policies that protect the right to participation and the right to freedom of expression, including a free and independent media,?he added.

Climate action ?reckoning?

UNFCCC/ Kiara Worth. Secretary-General António Guterres with young climate activists at the ???????Climate Implementation Summit at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

UN 2023 Water conference (22 to 24 March, New York) Billions of people worldwide still live without safely managed drinking water and sanitation, even though access to both services has long been defined as a human right. Without these services, women and girls are more vulnerable to abuse, attack and ill-health, affecting their ability to study, work and live in dignity. The UN 2023 Water Conference is expected to spur global action towards addressing the water crisis, which disproportionately affects women and girls. Get involved and show your support ! website: https:// sdgs.un.org/ conferences/ water2023 Source: UN Department of Global Communications

Climate action ?reckoning?

Championing young people The Secret ary-General emphasized t hat t he t hreat s undermining right s today w ill also have an impact on fut ure generat ions, w ho are often perceived as barely an aftert hought . He expressed hope t hat t he Summit of t he Fut ure, scheduled for next year, w ill bring t hese right s to t he forefront of t he global discussion. ?There is no greater const it uency to champion t hat fut ure t han young people ? and t he new UN Yout h Office t hat w ill be up and running t his year is designed to st rengt hen our work,? he said.

These effort s are also an opport unit y to boost global act ion and build a UN t hat is fit for a new era, he added.

Copyright © 2023 UN Depart ment of Global Communicat ions, All right s reserved.

© newstatesman.com

JEAN-LOUIS KEROUAC Born Jean-Louis Kerouac, Kerouac is the most famous native son of Lowell, Massachusetts. His parents had immigrated as very young children from the Province of Quebec, Canada, and Kerouac spoke a local French Canadian-American dialect before he spoke English. He was a football star at Lowell High School and, upon graduation in 1939, was awarded a scholarship to Columbia University. However, after an injury sidelined him on the football team, Kerouac grew unhappy with Columbia and dropped out of school.

During this period in New York City, Kerouac became friends with the poet Allen Ginsberg and the novelist W illiam S. Burroughs, Herbert Huncke, and others who would be associated with the "Beat Generation."

During World War II, he briefly joined the Merchant Marine and the U.S. Navy, and after the war, in 1947, he met Neal Cassady, with whom he would, in the late 1940s, begin crisscrossing the country by automobile.

Kerouac wrote his first novel, "The Town and the City," about his struggle to balance his family's expectations with his unconventional life, published in 1950 with Ginsberg's help.

Kerouac took several cross-country trips with Cassady during this time, which became the basis for his most famous work, "On The Road." The manuscript ? presented to his editor on a single, unbroken roll of paper, the scroll later exhibited to record crowds in Lowell ? was rejected. Six years passed before it was published in 1957. In the years between, Kerouac followed Ginsberg and Cassady to San Francisco, and the term "Beat Generation," which Kerouac coined, gained popularity. W hen Kerouac finally broke through with the release of "On The Road," he was faced with challenges presented by the fame that followed as he tried to live up to the image portrayed in his novels and faced criticism from the literary establishment for being part of what was considered a fad. He would go on to publish additional novels, many of which used settings based on Lowell ? including "Doctor Sax," "The Subterraneans," "The Dharma Bums," and his final great work, "Big Sur." He settled in Florida with his wife, Stella Sampas, and his mother, where he died in 1969 at age 47. He was buried in Lowell.

Even after his death, Kerouac's popularity continues. "On The Road" has remained widely read, and a new film adaptation of the novel starring Garrett Hedlund and Kristen Stewart recently premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Kerouac was named one of the most important figures of the 20th century by LIFE Magazine and The Times of London. His interest in Kerouac has grown with the publication of his letters, poetry, spiritual writings, early novels, and more from his remarkable literary archive. He has been cited as influential by countless writers and musicians, including The Doors, Bob Dylan, and Patti Smith.

Source: jackkerouac.org

?EPICENTER OF CREATIVE VOICES?: JACK KEROUAC MUSEUM PROJECT FINDS ARCHITECTURE FIRM, DRAFTS RENDERINGS

LOWELL ? At St. Jean Baptiste Parish, in the heart of The Acre neighborhood, author Jack Kerouac served as an altar boy. The church was also the site of his funeral service when he died in 1969.

As it was for many other French-Canadian immigrants, the now-vacant church was a community center. But the Jack Kerouac Foundation has plans to breathe new life into the church in honor of the famous writer.

The foundation announced its plans earlier this year to convert the church into a museum and performing arts center, retaining much of the historical nature of the building ? including its organ ? while adding modern elements, like a glass structure.

While very early in the process, the foundation has recently partnered with architecture firm Solomon Corwell Buenz, who created a series of renderings depicting the potential new attraction.

Sylvia Cunha, director of marketing and development of the Jack Kerouac Estate, has been the leading force behind the project and sees it as an opportunity to revitalize The Acre.

When visiting Lowell and learning more about Kerouac, tourists sometimes don't know "where to start their Kerouac journey," Cunha said, but this museum would serve as their central point.

"This is Jack. He's our guy," Cunha said. "People like to claim them, but he's ours."

The museum, located on the ground floor, would house several items related to Kerouac and his legacy. In contrast, the other building floors would belong to a performance center with an upper balcony and rooftop access. There will also, of course, be a bookstore and café.

Cunha said she anticipates the project to cost up to $15 million.

Bryan Irwin, the principal architect at Solomon Corwell Buenz, said the firm intentionally aimed to create contrast by adding newer-looking design elements to the historic character and façade of the church.

In researching Kerouac and his legacy, Irwin said he recognized the somewhat complicated connection Kerouac had with his hometown and his Catholic upbringing. He wanted to illustrate that visually in a "play of old and new."

"It's quite clear that Lowell was very formative to what made Jack Kerouac Jack Kerouac," Irwin said. "This idea of trying to express some tension in the design, something about relationships. Kerouac's relationship to the church, Kerouac's relationship to the neighborhood, Kerouac's relationship to the city and the people he knew growing up."

Given its location, Irwin said they also plan to engage UMass Lowell in project discussions.

According to the foundation's press release, the church was deconsecrated in 2004 and has remained closed.

"Preserving history is important," said Jim Sampas, CEO of the foundation and literary executor of the Jack Kerouac Estate.

"That's very sacred ground for Jack," Sampas said of the church. "All we're looking to do is do it justice and try and create something very welcoming."

The performance center should be a cultural hub and an opportunity for young to engage with the city's history, Sampas said.

He said he's "very, very optimistic" about the process thus far, having received plenty of positive feedback and support from residents. Still, it's "a matter of putting the pieces together." The performance center, he hopes, can draw young people to the site as both audience members and performers.

"I think it would be essential to not only the church itself and putting something special at that historic landmark, but also the area," Sampas said. "I feel this will be an epicenter of creative voices worldwide and draw a large crowd to Lowell."

State Sen. Ed Kennedy, U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan, and other local political leaders "understand the importance" of the museum and have advocated for funding over the last several months, Cunha said.

By engaging young Lowell residents and showing them Kerouac's legacy, Cunha said they hope to "find the next Jack."

"It's such a great artists' community already here in Lowell, whether it be Western Ave. or Mill No. 5," Cunha said. "It's just such a great community, and to have him and that building be a part of it."

Source: jackkerouaccenter.com

Brazilian director Walter Salles presents On the road in Competition, a road movie adapted from one of Jack Kerouac's most famous novels, and a founding document for the Beat Generation.

It's now been 8 years since Walter Salles began this work, because he began by shooting the highly original documentary Looking for On the Road. "The idea of adapting the novel was so complex that I wanted to make a documentary charting the journeys taken by Kerouac and the rest of the group, so that I could gain a better insight into the odyssey described in the book and what remained of post-industrial America," he explains. And so he set out to meet the characters in the book, some of whom are still alive. According to the director, the adaptation of the book required a great deal of spontaneity. "To remain faithful to its spirit, we had to prioritise improvisation while shooting. But if you know the tune, it's much easier to riff."

Kerouac's book is an ode to wide open spaces, an epic journey West, in search of new worlds. The themes of travel and the search for identity are common to the work and to the films of Walter Salles. Peregrinations, the search for the self, an ideal, encounters with the Other..

The novel itself is often described as "mystical". On the Road is the book which launched the Beat Generation, the American literary and cultural movement of the 50s and 60s.

The poet Michael McClure, who was part of the movement, explains it in this way, "A young 21 year-old guy asked me the other day what had happened to the Beat Generation. Both his clothes and hair were just the way he wanted them, he was against the war in Iraq and was interested in ecology and Buddhism. I put the same question to him, 'Yes, where is the Beat Generation?'. The answer of course was that it was in him. It's not always easy to explain that to others. Besides, there's no need anyway..." E.B. - Festival de Cannes 23/ 05/ 12

Photo: IMDB / Book Cover Photo : www.abebooks.com

Canada-in-Asia Conference Arrives in Singapore February 21-23, 2023

Photo: Fairmont Singapore?s Raffles City Convention Centre

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (APF Canada) and Universities Canada are excited to invite members of the media to the inaugural Canada-in-Asia Conference 2023 in Singapore on February 21-23, 2023.

A signature event for Canada-connected individuals, businesses, and institutions across Asia, the Canada-in-Asia Conference (CIAC2023) will gather Asia-based alumni of Canadian universities and key leaders from business and government in Canada and Asia to catalyze a new and transformative phase of Canada-Asia engagement.

Over two days at the Fairmont Singapore?s Raffles City Convention Centre, the conference program combines keynote and inter?disciplinary plenary sessions, concurrent thematic activities based on priority sectors, strategic networking opportunities, and an evening gala ? alongside activities organized by participating universities and organizations with their respective communities. ?This event is a unique opportunity for us to build and strengthen individual and institutional linkages across Canada and Asia, and work together to find solutions to pressing challenges facing our world,? said Jeff Nankivell, President and CEO, Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. ?Singapore sits at the centre of dynamic Asia, and we look forward to constructive, high-level discussions between senior representatives of the governments and universities of Canada, Singapore, and the wider region.? ?Canada?s universities are global leaders in developing the talent and leading research that demonstrate Canada?s unique capabilities and contributions,? said Paul Davidson, President, Universities Canada. ?Our alumni in Asia act as ambassadors for that work, and for Canada. Engaging these individuals and building strong people-to-people connections across borders and barriers will deepen Canada-Asia relations in business, governments, academia, and civil society.?

Accredited members of the media are invited to attend the inaugural Canada-in-Asia Conference as space allows.

Please contact our media representative below for further information and registration.

The Canada-in-Asia Conference is presented with the assistance of the Government of Canada. APF Canada and Universities Canada are grateful for this support. We would also like to thank our Major Partners, Sun Life, Invest in Canada, Export Development Canada, and Royal Bank of Canada; our Supporting Partners, the Gouvernement du Québec and Investissement Québec; and our Associate Partners, BMO, Bombardier, CIBC, Government of Saskatchewan, Invest Alberta, McMillan LLP, Fasken, Gowling WLG, and McCarthy Tétrault.

The Canada-in-Asia Conference would also not be possible without our Gold University Partners, University of Waterloo, McGill University, University of Toronto, York University, University of British Columbia, Western University, and the University of Alberta; our Silver University Partners, The Research Universities?Council of British Columbia, University of Ottawa, University of Saskatchewan, and University of Calgary; and our Bronze University Partner, SFU Alumni.

APF Canada and Universities Canada would also like to thank our in-kind partners: the C100, Mila, the Toronto Centre, and the Business Council of Canada.

Key Links: Conference Website: www.canada-in-asia.ca APF Canada: www.asiapacific.ca Universities Canada: www.univcan.ca

'Do whatever you please. Follow your own star: be original if you want to be and don't if you don't want to be. Just be natural and gay and light-hearted and pretty and simple and overflowing and general and baroque and bare and austere and stylized and wild and daring and conservative. And learn and learn and learn. Open your mind to every form of beauty.' ? CONSTANCE SPRY

Constance Spry and the Crafti ng of H appi ness

© cultivatedbychristin.com

A Rose Named Constance, Constance Spry.

'Constance Spry' was introduced when the shrub rose was out of style, and the hybrid tea rose to be the most popular rose with gardeners. The new cultivar renewed the popularity of the more old-fashioned type of rose.

Constance Spry' is a vigorous, spreading shrub, 8 to 20 ft (243?609 cm) in height, with a 6 to 8 ft spread (182?243 cm). It has been described as a "lanky grower." It can be grown as a climber or large shrub.

It blooms in clusters of medium to large, fully double, cupped, and globular flowers. The blooms are pale pink on the outside and a deeper, darker pink within.

The rose is noted for its strong, distinctive "myrrh-like" scent, a characteristic inherited by many of its descendants. It blooms once a year for four weeks in late spring or early summer. The plant has abundant foliage and flexible canes that are easy to train.

'Constance Spry' was the first rose developed commercially by David C.H. Austin, an amateur rose breeder at the time, living in Shropshire, England.

Austin was interested in developing new rose cultivars that look and smell like old-fashioned roses.

One of his early successes was crossing the Gallica rose, Rosa ?Belle Isis?, and the floribunda, Rosa ?Dainty Maid.? Among the resulting seedlings was a strong, sweet-smelling rose with large pink flowers.

Austin showed the new cultivar to his friend and legendary horticulturalists, Graham Thomas, who showed the rose to Hillings Nursery. The nursery introduced the new cultivar in 1961. 'Constance Spry' is considered the first of the modern ?English Roses.?

© T. Kiya

Rosa 'Constance Spry' is a light pink shrub rose introduced into Great Britain in 1961. It is the first rose cultivar commercially developed by British rose breeder, David C.H. Austin.

Developed at a time when the hybrid tea rose was the most common style marketed to gardeners, the success of 'Constance Spry' renewed the popularity of a more old-fashioned type of rose. The rose is named after gardening educator, author, and florist Constance Spry. Spry collected old roses from the 1930s and 1940s and traveled extensively through Britain during World War II, giving talks to women's groups on gardening and flower arranging. She was a talented flower arranger and wrote many popular books on the subject.

Despite its only once-a-year flowering, the charm of 'Constance Spry's old-fashioned appearance proved popular enough to prove a market for "reproduction" style roses. Austin continued his breeding program with 'Constance Spry' and was further crossed with both modern and older roses, resulting in the fully remontant Rosa 'Wife of Bath' (1969), Rosa 'The Yeoman,' 1969 and Rosa 'Chaucer' (1970), from which many of his later roses descended. 'Constance Spry' was awarded the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit in 1993.

Source: "Constance Spry" www.paulbardenroses.com

In 1914, as the Great War ravaged Europe, 28-year-old Constance Marr was appointed secretary of the Dublin Red Cross. It would be another 14 years before Constance opened her first flower shop and revolutionized flower arranging. It is fitting to mention these formative years on International Women's Day. Constance belonged to the first generation of women with enough hard-won currency to leave their husbands. So, in an age when the divorce rate was less than 0.25%, she closed the door on an abusive six-year marriage. We might wonder at the courage it took to break free from this domestic hell and forge ahead as a single mother. But courage, and a willingness to embrace the new, would turn out to be recurrent themes in Constance's life.

© Aston Martin

The Surpri si ng Li fe of Constance Spry

Constance spent a decade as a successful career woman before the phrase was coined. In 1917, she took a senior position at the Ministry of Aircraft Production. In 1921, she became headmistress of the Homerton and South Hackney Day Continuation School in east London. And in 1926, she broke with convention by taking a new last name ? despite not being married to its owner.

Constance ? now Spry ? opened her first flower shop, Flower Decoration, two years later.

Almost immediately, her revolutionary approach to floristry garnered interest amongst the Glitterati. She democratised the form, marrying traditional flowers of choice with 'unusual' and uncelebrated plant material like kale and pussy willow. Inspired by the Old Masters of the Dutch tradition, her work was at once vibrant and subtle, wild and elegant.

She collected unconventional vessels ? from jam jars to attic curios ? in which to house these creations.

With a nod to the abundance of plant material from members of the British Commonwealth, Spry and her team designed the flowers for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. Photo by Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS. Source: flowermag.com

In 1932, Spry?s friend Prudence Maufe commissioned a flower display from her to celebrate the completion of the artist Gluck?s new art studio. She wrote to Gluck ?I think she has a genius for flowers and you have a genius for paint, so that ought to make for happiness.?Gluck endeavoured to paint the arrangement and over several months had the display reworked each time it wilted. Chromatic, the resulting painting illustrates how Gluck was greatly influenced by Spry?s original arrangement.

Constance had an honest appreciation for Gluck?s artwork and a relationship developed between them.

Source: gardenmuseum.org.uk

Spry infused floristry with authenticity and originality ? she was no less pioneering in her private life. Her relationship with Henry' Shav' Spry was convenient: while he romanced Constance's shop manager, she embarked on a long-term lesbian relationship with the painter Gluck.

Spry was the first 'domestic goddess' ? the author of thirteen books, responsible for the flowers at Queen Elizabeth II's coronation and the famous 'Coronation Chicken.' She was also a revolutionary figure whose approach to aesthetics, gender, and sexuality was, perhaps, more in-line with the decade she had just missed out on. Constance passed away in 1960. She continues to exert a tremendous Image: IMDBon modern floristry and influence remains a potent figure of female liberation.

Image: IMDB

Source: londonflowerschool.com

Requiring vases that worked practically with the requirements for her floral arrangements, Spry tasked her art assistant Florence Standfast to develop wide-mouthed bowls to allow for an abundance of blooms and foliage.

These initial designs were handmade in papier-mâché and coated in varnish or plaster.

By 1935 a more regular supply of vases was required, and Miss Standfast modeled a range of shapes that could be manufactured commercially. Fulham Pottery employed press-molding techniques to make the range.

The matt surface decoration demanded by Spry was replicated by making the vases in white, filter-pressed Devon earthenware clay.

Source: flowermag.com

I nspi red by Constance Spry © floresdelsol.com

Tabadul Marks 2022 Achievements More innovative and diverse portfolio, over-arching strategy, and a promising investment outlook

The Saudi Company for Exchanging Information Electronically (TABADUL) has marked several new achievements in 2022, providing innovative services to the logistics and financial sectors in collaboration with its partners from the government and private sectors. Building an integrated logistics ecosystem and creating secure technical solutions, Tabadul supports the Kingdom?s digital transformation and cements its position as a leading economic, commercial, and industrial powerhouse and a global logistics hub facilitating international trade.

Over the past year, Tabadul focused on expanding and diversifying its customer base and enhancing its portfolio by creating new products and managing the existing product portfolio, and launching new services to provide integrated solutions for the logistics ecosystem supply chain.

Committed to creating strategic partnerships to accelerate the realization of national goals and championing digital logistics, Tabadul continued to build strategic partnerships with local, regional, and international partners, signing many agreements and MOUs with government and private entities in the fields of fintech, banking, supply chains, transportation, and other logistics services and solutions.

The Truck Management System (TMS) is one of the innovative solutions launched

by Tabadul in 2022. TMS is designed with the latest technologies to manage and improve the operation of incoming and outgoing trucks in Saudi Arabia?s borders.

Trucks are tracked using Geofencing/ GPS technologies, achieving integration with the relevant partners and logistics stakeholders and automating all needed approvals and validations with the relevant partners while managing the operations field.

Tabadul also overhauled Wthaq, its digital platform for all bank guarantee transactions of Saudi banks and foreign banks operating in the Kingdom. Wthaq has onboarded several new partner banks including Saudi National Bank, Al Rajhi Bank, and Saudi British Bank, and has begun issuing and activating electronic letters of guarantee to their customers through an integrated system.

In parallel, Tabadul continued building its internal capabilities by investing in multiple HR training programs to develop a qualified national staff who can lead the digital transformation of the logistics sector in line with Saudi Vision 2030?s Human Capability Development Program.

Tabadul has also developed its public communication approach, participating in many local and regional prestigious events and activities. Under the theme ?Tech Solutions Beyond Tomorrow?, Tabadul participated in GITEX GLOBAL, which took place in Dubai.

These developments have all contributed to shaping Tabadul?s new strategy, BEYOND, which the company launched as a roadmap for its role in facilitating and developing regional and global trade. Through its new strategy, TABADUL will drive logistics automation, enhance the private sector?s operational performance, and deliver innovative services to support the maritime transport sector, in addition to its role in facilitating trade finance and leveraging the financial services sector.

Tabadul will continue its success story in 2023, collaborating with its partners of success and championing digital logistics to transform Saudi Arabia into a global logistics hub and a facilitator of the regional and global trade system, thereby supporting Saudi Vision 2030?s goal to transform the Kingdom into a global destination for driving human-centered economic growth.

© Warner Bros. Pictures

?And as I sat there brooding on the old, unknown world, I thought of Gatsby?s wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy?s dock. He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night.

Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter? to-morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And one fine morning? ?

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.? ? F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

© Lucas Alexander

© Warner Bros. Pictures

?I f i t wasn?t for the mi st we could see your home across the bay,? sai d Gatsby. ?You always have a green li ght that burns all ni ght at the end of your dock.?

The uniquely imaginative Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge!, Australia) tackles F. Scott Fitzgerald's landmark novel, The Great Gatsby, with blockbuster star Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role. Spider-Man's Tobey Maguire stars as the Fitzgerald-like would-be writer Nick Carraway who arrives in New York in 1922, an era of loose morals, glittering jazz, and bootleg kings. Chasing his own American Dream, Nick encounters the mysterious millionaire Gatsby and his bewitching cousin Daisy.

Soon, Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super-rich, their illusions, loves, and deceits. Bearing witness to this new world, Nick pens a tale of impossible love, incorruptible dreams, and unforgettable tragedy -- mirroring our times and struggles.?

The film starts with a shot of the flashing green light in East Egg, Long Island, as Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) says how his father told him always to see the good in others. Nick adds that there was only one person he saw good in Gatsby. He is seen in the Perkins Sanitarium talking to a doctor, whose records indicate that Nick is there due to his alcoholism, among other things.

Nick takes us back to the spring of 1922 when Wall Street was booming, and bootleggers were in business due to the alcohol ban. Nick moves to a cottage on Long Island in West Egg, saying he was ambitious as he started working as a bond broker for Wall Street after initially wanting to be a writer. This cottage was next door to Gatsby's mansion.

Nick goes across the bay to visit his cousin Daisy (Carey Mulligan) and her blue-blooded husband Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton), who went to Yale with Nick. Daisy introduces Nick to Jordan Baker (Elizabeth Debicki), a golfer. Over dinner, we learn that Tom is arrogant and racist, remarking on the rise of the colored empire. He gets a phone call, and Jordan tells Nick that Tom is having an affair. Later, Nick walks with Daisy, who says she has become cynical lately. Nick asks about her daughter, and Daisy mentions she is glad she had a girl and hopes she can be a fool because, in her words, that's the best thing a girl in this world can be. Nick returns home and notices a figure standing on the pier and looking and reaching toward the green light, and Nick believes this is Gatsby.

© Warner Bros. Pictures

The doctor at the sanitarium convinces Nick to write a novel about his experience.

He continues the story by writing about the Valley of Ashes, a desolate part of New York featuring a billboard with two eyes watching over everybody, said to be the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg. Nick and Tom are headed to the Yale Club when they get off the commuter train and head to a car repair garage run by George W ilson (Jason Clarke). Tom chats with him over business matters, and George's wife Myrtle (Isla Fisher) comes downstairs. It becomes apparent that she is Tom's mistress. She mentions her sister is coming to New York and wants to introduce her to Nick.

Later, at an apartment, while Tom and Myrtle are going at it in the bedroom, her sister Catherine (Adelaide Clemens) comes in with two other friends. Myrtle comes out of the bedroom shouting Daisy's name, enraging Tom and causing him to smack her hard across the face. They begin to have a party, and Nick remarks that this is only the second time he's ever been drunk. At night, he watches from the window and looks upon the people in the town, saying he finds himself within, and without the world he is in.

Nick wakes home and says he can't remember how he got back. He opens the front door to find that he has received an invitation to a party at Gatsby's, saying he was the only one who has ever gotten a direct invitation, as all the other wealthy people in New York just come to his mansion and indulge themselves. He goes to the party, which is extravagant and asks around for Gatsby, but nobody has seen him. He runs into Jordan, who is also curious to find him. They hear rumors such as Gatsby being a German spy or an assassin. Eventually, Nick encounters the man himself, Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio). Nick tells Jordan that he imagined Gatsby to be older and fatter. A man comes by and tells Jordan that Gatsby wishes to speak with her in private. A while later, as the party ends, she tells Nick that she just heard something shocking. Before she can say anything else, she is pulled away by a snobby rich man.

The following day Gatsby shows up at Nick's cottage in his Duesenberg and takes Nick on a trip, describing to him "God's truth" about himself. He claims to have come from a wealthy family that is now all dead, and later attended Oxford and went on to become a decorated W W I veteran. He takes Nick into the city to meet with his business partner Meyer Wolfsheim (Amitabh Bachchan). They go into a bar beneath a barbershop where bootlegged alcohol is being sold. We learn that Wolfsheim is rumored to have rigged the 1919 World Series, and Gatsby considers setting Nick up for a business with them. Tom Buchanan shows up, at which point Gatsby vanishes.

Nick has lunch with Jordan, who tells him about her conversation with Gatsby.

Through a flashback, we learn from Jordan that Gatsby and Daisy were romantically involved five years earlier while living in Louisville, Kentucky, when Gatsby was a war officer. W hen he is called away, she waits for him but eventually meets Tom and is set to marry him. Before their wedding, however, she gets a letter from Gatsby, causing Daisy to get cold feet nearly, but she goes on to marry Tom. Gatsby also intentionally bought his mansion across from Daisy's home, hoping to see her. Jordan tells Nick that he wants him to invite Daisy over for tea. He approaches Gatsby that night and says he will do it.

The following morning, many people fix Nick's lawn and home, and it's clear that Gatsby intends to have tea at Nick's place instead of his. They fix it up and make it look nice, but Gatsby gets nervous.

He almost leaves until Daisy comes in. Nick brings her inside, but Gatsby has fled. She is amazed at all the flowers in the living room, and then Nick hears a knock at the door. It is Gatsby, dripping wet from the pouring rain outside. He enters, and Daisy sees him, and they both comment on how glad they are to see each other again.

The tea time is awkward until Nick leaves them alone by saying he is going into the city. W hen he returns to his house, Gatsby decides to take them to his place, and they spend some time at the beach before returning home. He shows Daisy a variety of shirts he possesses, and while she is excited, she starts crying. Nick knows it's sudden for her after five years, but she won't admit that.

Nick tells some truths about Gatsby. His real name is James Gatz, and he came from a low-income family of farmers from North Dakota. He did not see himself as part of that family; as he got older, he set off to accomplish more. W hile riding his boat, he encountered a yacht sailed by a man named Dan Cody (Steve Bisley). The young James Gatz rescued him from a storm and went on to sail with him, adopting some of Cody's customs, like using the term "old sport" (which he frequently calls Nick). After Cody died, he did not receive his inheritance because of Cody's family, so Gatsby made himself a wealthy man.

Gatsby throws another party, this time having Daisy and Tom show up. She and Gatsby retreat to a nearby location, where they kiss passionately. Daisy says she wishes they could run away together.

His butler pulls Gatsby out to settle a business dispute. After the party, Gatsby believes Daisy did not have a good time. He tells Nick that he needs her to tell Tom she doesn't love him so they can go back to Louisville and get married. Nick tells him he can't repeat the past, but Gatsby insists he can. He notes the first time he kissed Daisy when they first met, and Gatsby feels he had already married her. Before leaving, he tells Nick he is wrong about the past.

Gatsby stops throwing parties for a while. One day, which happens to be the hottest day of the summer, he invites Nick, Daisy, Tom, and Jordan over for lunch. Gatsby tries to hold Daisy's hand, but she panics, claims she is bored and wants to go into the city. Tom notices that she is feeling something for Gatsby, so he agrees to go into the city. Gatsby and Daisy drive off in his car while Tom takes Nick and Jordan. They stop for gas at George W ilson's garage, and he has learned of Myrtle's infidelity, but not that she's sleeping with Tom.

© Warner Bros. Pictures

The group meets up at a hotel where a man is cutting up a large block of ice to pass around because of the heat and for drinks. Tom starts to antagonize Gatsby slowly, hoping for a confrontation. He mocks his use of "old sport," claiming he lied about Oxford, and accuses him of bootlegging with Wolfsheim. Gatsby hits back by saying Daisy loves him and not Tom, putting her in an uncomfortable position. As Tom continues to egg him on, Gatsby snaps throw the alcohol and grab Tom, screaming at him and nearly hitting him. This frightens Daisy and Jordan. She and Gatsby leave. Tom decides to open a bottle of liquor and offers Nick some. He remarks that he just remembered that day was his birthday.

At night, Myrtle is being abused by George as he asks her where she got her pearls. She runs out into the street as she sees the Duesenberg coming, thinking it's Tom. The car speeds as Gatsby grabs the wheel, trying to swerve, but the car strikes Myrtle and kills her instantly. Tom, Nick, and Jordan drive by the scene and discover Myrtle's corpse as the police are on the scene. Tom is visibly distraught but denies having known her well. He goes to George, who is grieving. Tom tells him that Gatsby drove the car that hit Myrtle.

The Buchanans go back to their place. Jordan invites Nick inside, but he refuses. As he leaves, he hears Gatsby calling to him. He tells Nick that Daisy was driving after leaving the city to ease her tension, but although he tried to move the car, they could not stop hitting Myrtle. Nick walks away, seeing Tom and Daisy talking, apparently having reconciled.

Nick meets up with Gatsby later as he fixes the Duesenberg and covers it. He learns more about Gatsby the whole truth. Gatsby was always after Daisy and hoped she would wait for him after he came back from the war. Although penniless, he wanted to return to her, but she had already married Tom. Nick realizes Gatsby truly loves Daisy, and he only throws the parties in the hopes that she will show up for one of them.

That morning, Gatsby's gardener comes in and says he is to drain the pool before the leaves fall. Gatsby decides to swim before that and asks Nick to join him, but he declines. Before finally leaving, Nick tells Gatsby that the Buchanans are rotten people and that Gatsby is worth more than them. They share a friendly wave before departing.

Nick is too distracted at work and hopes Gatsby will call him with good news. At the same time, we see Daisy looking at her phone as she considers calling Gatsby. The phone rings at his place, and Gatsby hears it, excited. However, he does not see George W ilson behind him, who shoots him in the back. He falls into his pool, dead, just as George turns the gun on himself. We also see that Nick, not Daisy, was calling, and he panicked as he heard the gunshots.

After Gatsby's death, the media blamed him for the affair with Myrtle and her death. Nick is upset that he cannot tell them the truth. His place is bombarded with reporters who ungraciously huddle over his open casket. Nick tries to get in touch with Daisy, but she and Tom are leaving with their daughter, packing up everything and having their butler tell Nick they are gone. Nick adds that virtually nobody attended Gatsby's funeral except him. He would leave New York and go back to the Midwest, completely disillusioned. He also muses that Gatsby could not see that his dream of being with Daisy was behind him.

Nick completes his novel by simply titling it "Gatsby." He looks at the cover page and writes something extra, now calling it "The Great Gatsby."

Source: Warner Bros. / IMDB Photos Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

THE GREAT CARS OF GATSBY

G

Here?s how Nick Carraway describes Gatsby?s car in Fitzgerald?s novel:

It was a rich cream color, bright with nickel, swollen here and there in its monstrous length with triumphant hat-boxes and supper-boxes and tool-boxes, and terraced with a labyrinth of wind-shields that mirrored a dozen suns. Sitting down behind many layers of glass in a sort of green leather conservatory, we started to town..?

While Nick describes Gatsby?s car as ?cream colored,?other characters in the book describe it as ?yellow?? which,, symbolizes Gatsby?s pursuit of the gold, of the American Dream.

Duesenberg ? Model J

G

The elegant car model featured in The Great Gatsby (2013) movie is Duesenberg?s model J. It?s the replica of a model built in 1929, which brought a vintage feel to the movie. Duesenberg was known for manufacturing 100mph automobiles in an era where such excellent performance was beyond expectation. The best part about this car is that it has the most efficient exhaust system. The sturdy body puts the great elements in the movie.

- Philipp Meister

VISIBLE Photo: Warner Bros. © Pictures Levi Jones

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a classic novel that defines the "Gilded Age" and the struggles and beauty of the "Lost Generation." The novel is a masterpiece; surprisingly, Francis Ford Coppola's 1974 movie featuring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow is an excellent adaptation of the book. Coppola's screenplay perfectly captures the decadence and beauty of the jazz era, while Robert Redford was a perfect choice for the part of the charismatic Jay Gatsby. The movie won two Academy Awards, three BAFTA awards, and a Golden Globe.

There's a minor detail that many automotive journalists ignore, and that is the mismatch between the Rolls-Royce presented in the movie, which is a 1928 model, and the year when F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby. W hile F. Scott Fitzgerald published the novel in April 1925, the car is a newer model from 1928. Furthermore, the story takes place in 1922, so producers should have selected an older Rolls-Royce model year because this one is too modern.

The owners painted the vehicle's exterior creamy yellow and upholstered the cabin in retro green.

The aesthetic is "further complemented with striking chrome accents, polished wood dashboard, and tan convertible canvas top," says Classic Promenade. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, Rolls-Royce had a "rich cream color, bright with nickel," so when it comes to color accuracy, the owners have done a fantastic job.

As for the car's history, the automaker manufactured the S304KP in 1928 in Springfield, MA. One year later, Rolls-Royce delivered the car to the original owner, Mildred Loring Logan of New York City. Later in the year, it passed hands again and ended up with American Tobacco Company president George Washington Hill. In 1932, a new owner purchased the vehicle, and mechanics mounted the Ascot Phaeton body no. B7180 new on a used Phantom I, chassis no. S240RM. Fasttrack to 2022...it was acquired by John O'Quinn, a Texan collector, before the present owner bought it.

The car has undergone an eight-year restoration costing more than $800,000, according to auctioneers, who said leading Rolls-Royce experts had been consulted.

Source: Keiran Southern, thetimes.co.uk

Photo: Classic Promenade Auctions

© Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

ROLLS-ROYCE CELEBRATES 112 YEARS OF THE SPIRIT OF ECSTASY Rolls-Royce Motor Cars celebrates the anniversary of its Spirit of Ecstasy mascot, first registered as intellectual property of Rolls-Royce on 6 February 1911. Ever since she has been universally recognised, respected and admired ? with a poise and grace that makes her a global icon.

She?s changed with the passage of time. At various points in her long life she?s adopted different stances, sometimes stood slightly taller or shorter, and allowed the wind to sculpt her flowing garments in subtly altered forms.

She celebrates her anniversary in her most streamlined and athletic guise, having been specially recreated in 2022 for the marque?s all-electric Spectre, itself the most aerodynamic Rolls-Royce ever. She?s also truly ageless: today, she more closely resembles the original drawings made in 1911 by her creator, the illustrator and sculptor Charles Sykes, than she?s ever done.

The origins of the Spirit of Ecstasy are the substance of legend and myth, as well as recorded fact, with some details still veiled in mystery and intrigue. Her backstory involves many of the foundational characters in Rolls-Royce?s own history, including the marque's first managing director, Claude Johnson.

To Rolls-Royce customers and fans around the world, she personifies ambition, achievement, excellence and success. She inspires greatness ? every motor car on which she graces has to be worthy of her presence.

F. Scott Fitzgerald circa 1921 published in The World's Work (June 1921 issue).

Tospeakof F.Scott and Z eldaFitzgeraldisto invoketheJazzA ge, romance,andoutrageous earlysuccesswithall its attendant perils.Their namessummonflappers, recklessspending,gleaming hotellobbies,smoky speakeasies,oceanjourneys, whitesuits,smart dresses, andanostalgiaforlost innocence.Despiteleading short,nomadiclives,they definedaneraandleft an abundanceof artistic achievements.

FOR ALL LICENSING INQUIRIES, PLEASE CONTACT: Marla A. Metzner Fashion Licensing of America, Inc. 276 Fifth Avenue Suite 600 New York, NY 10001 fashionlicensing@aol.com © scottandzelda.com

917 763-9385 cell

The Scott & Zelda Eyewear Collection is a modern interpretation of this creative couple?s style. We see it as retro glam, harkening back to a romantic past in decidedly contemporary forms to accessorize the most discerning, style conscious consumer. A vintage hard case and cleaning cloth is included with each purchase.

For more information, visit New York Eye.

© scottandzelda.com

WRITERS EDITION F. SCOTT FITZGERALD MONTBLANC PEN

The Writers Edition F. Scott Fitzgerald revives the glamour of the "Roaring Twenties". The shimmering white barrel forms a striking contrast to the black precious resin cap, which is decorated by the signature of F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Dignified tribute is paid to the origins of the legendary Art Deco style by the delicately engraved 1920s urban skyline that decorates the rhodium-plated 18-karat gold nib.

© scottandzelda.com

TheFitzgeraldSuiteat thePlaza, N ewY ork

I nhonorof F.Scott Fitzgerald,oneof ThePlaza'smost famouspatrons,andto celebrateB azLuhrmann'sfilmadaptationof TheGreat Gatsby,TheFitzgerald Suitewascreatedtoexperiencethesaidera.DesignedbyA cademyA ward® winner CatherineM artin,thesuiteisadramaticart decospacethat channelsthedynamismof the JazzA ge.ThesuiteisfurnishedexclusivelybyRH,RestorationHardwaretoreflect theluxuryandstyleof theera,whichcaptivatedFitzgeraldanddrewhimtoThePlaza, inspiringitsinclusioninhisgreat works.

© scottandzelda.com

© scottandzelda.com

F.Scott Fitzgeraldwasamanof impeccabletaste.N everwithout asuit andtie,hecareddeeplyabout qualityand style.I nthesamemannerthat hewrote timelessstorieswithnuanceandgrace,to thisdayherepresentsthevisuallanguage of anexuberant era.

TheF.Scott FitzgeraldSuiteat theRitzCarlton,Paris

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Life and creative partners Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin at their recently listed 19th-century Anglo-Italianate in-style property in Manhattan.

© James Merrell

A Lif e of Lov e Twenty-six years and two lovely children, what a partnership between these outstanding individuals, Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin, has. Their love for film and everything that goes with it can be seen in their shared creative work. We admire their sense of self and living a life in New York that they are passionate about. 2023 has given them a good start with the much-adored and critically- acclaimed film "Elvis."

Their names graced the spotlight for decades of films of an era that we cherish to this day and have become classic masterpieces. Baz Luhrmann is an icon in the industry and has been regarded as an auteur. A writer, director, and producer of films and related disciplines, he has made a mark so distinct in style and treatment that film aficionados know his work like the back of their hands. As a storyteller, he's known as a pioneer of pop culture, fusing high and low culture with a unique sonic and cinematic language. He is the most commercially successful Australian director, with his films making up four of the top ten highest worldwide-grossing Australian films ever.

Catherine Martin is a film, stage, and interior designer with 4 Oscars, 5 BAFTAs, and a Tony Award, among many other awards. Along with being honored as one of Glamour Magazine's 2013 Women of the Year for her production, set, and costume designs, Catherine was inducted into the Rodeo Drive "Walk of Style" for her work on "The Great Gatsby." Christened "CM" by Baz Luhrmann just a few weeks after they met, she is more commonly known by this distinctive moniker.

In a recent interview with Forbes, Catherine shared how they met, ?W hen we met I was going for a job interview to work for the bicentennial year for Australia. He had been given a couple of companies as a bicentennial initiative and I was going to interview for those jobs. And when I met him we just started to talk, and talk, and talk about everything from Madonna, to space travel, to philosophy. I had been a bit dissatisfied with the intellectual rigor of drama school. I thought that he had such a big mind. We kept talking and began working together. I remember going into a rehearsal room and he was rehearsing an opera that I had done the costumes for. My collogue did the set and I remember seeing Baz?s staging, and I remember thinking, ?wow, this person really has an incredible mind.?It was about designing opera and being in the theater, but he decided to make a film from the play. By this time, we had been working together for a long time. It was a natural progression, it wasn?t planed, although weirdly, Baz plans everything, but it was also organic. He?ll think of something and it will go into his subconscious and it will end up happening. And he will then convince everyone else that they need to go in the same direction as him,?she muses and laughs as she thinks of her husband.

To the millions around the world who have seen the movies she's worked on, the wife and chief collaborator of The Baz Luhrmann, CM is more likely to be known as the woman who made Nicole Kidman resplendent in red in the costumes for Moulin Rouge! (2001), for making us want to shimmy our way in beaded dresses into the lavish party scenes in The Great Gatsby (2013), and for collaborating on Baz Luhrmann's extraordinary contemporary reinterpretation of Romeo + Juliet (1996).

The twenty years of experience of painstaking research she has undertaken for all of Baz's films, combined with her lifelong passion for fashion and the close industry relationships she has been able to forge at Baz's side (including Miuccia Prada and Karl Lagerfeld), have made her a force to be reckoned with.

Like Baz, CM's profound ability to become deeply and authentically involved in the branding, brand message, and the very DNA of the projects she's involved in has allowed her to segue into our world via luxury brands like Prada, Chanel, Tiffany & Co and Brooks Brothers and through the creation of the Fitzgerald Suite at the Plaza Hotel, New York.

Their creative pursuits, passion and shared dedication to each other's field have always been that fire that radiates such magnificence on and offscreen.

Sony Group © Warner Bros.Corporation Pictures

CM?s passion for authenticity is the same quality that she brings to her burgeoning interiors business. Her design aesthetic for the home has resulted in elegant, timeless and yet always functional creations that can both inspire and transport, from the chairs and bedding she has designed for leading homewares brands like Anthropologie to her work with Designer Rugs and Mokum.

Constantly inspired by the people she meets and the places she visits, CM divides her time between Paris, New York and Sydney and has two beautiful children, Lillian (10) and W illiam (8).

CM recreated her designs for screen-version of Strictly Ballroom (1992), for which she won two Australian Film Institute Awards (Best Production design and Best Costume design). She won an Oscar nomination (as a production designer) for Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet (1996). She also made her debut as an associate producer for the same film. She married Luhrmann on her 32nd birthday, 26 January 1997.

W illiam Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (often shortened to Romeo + Juliet) is a 1996 romantic crime film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. It is a modernized adaptation of W illiam Shakespeare's tragedy of the same name, albeit still utilizing Shakespearean English. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes in the title roles of two teenagers who fall in love, despite their being members of feuding families. Brian Dennehy, John Leguizamo, Harold Perrineau, Pete Postlethwaite, Paul Sorvino and Diane Venora also star in supporting roles. It is the third major film version of the play, following adaptations by George Cukor in 1936 and by Franco Zeffirelli in 1968.

© Twentieth Century Fox

Romeo + Jul iet

Paris, France, 1899. In pursuit of the unconventional ideals of European bohemianism--Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and Love--impecunious, grieving young writer Christian leaves London and sets foot in the heartland of the Bohemian world, the charming hilltop Montmartre district. There, the wide-eyed newcomer meets Henri de Toulouse Lautrec, and just like that, Christian joins the Children of the Revolution and starts writing a spectacular show for the infamous Moulin Rouge nightclub. But when a fortunate misunderstanding leads Christian to the sweet-smelling boudoir of Satine, the cabaret's statuesque star performer and courtesan, something unexpected happens: he falls in love.

However, Duke, the show's jealous patron, is not prepared to take the unforeseen complication lying down. And as a dangerous love triangle unfolds, a shocking, well-hidden secret threatens to ruin everything.? Nick Riganas

Enhancing the value of mobility space, Afeela will expand it into entertainment and emotional space. They have begun exploring new possibilities in mobility with Epic Games. Kim Libreri, CTO, Epic Games, joined them on stage to share his passion for partnering with Sony Honda Mobility and how he looks forward to co-creating through the new partnership. The challenge of creating new value in mobility services and entertainment has begun. © Twentieth Century Fox © Sony Group Corporation

AFEELA expresses an interactive relationship where people "FEEL" mobility as an intelligent entity, and mobility "FEELs" people and society using sensing and network IT technologies.

"Baz Luhrmann dreamed of making the Australian "Gone W ith the W ind," and so he has, with much of that film's lush epic beauty and some of the same awkwardness with a national legacy of racism. This is the sort of film described as a "sweeping romantic melodrama," a broad family entertainment that would never have been made without the burning obsession of its producers (Luhrmann for "Australia," David O. Selznick for "GW TW "). Coming from a director known for his punk-rock "W illiam Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet" and the visual pyrotechnics of "Moulin Rouge," it is exuberantly old-fashioned, and I mean that as a compliment." - Roger Ebert Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism. © Twentieth Century Fox

A ust r a l ia

© Warner Bros. Pictures

The Great Gatsby - The Party Begins This Spring London?s longest-running immersive show is now coming to New York!

Dress to the nines and immerse yourself in the roaring twenties!

https:// www.immersivegatsby.com/

© Warner Bros.

"It was a very emotional experience. It's very intense to watch when it's your family. The first movie I ever watched in the theater and said I wanted to make movies was Moulin Rouge!, I was 12. It was a real honor to know Baz was doing this movie. Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!, for the age I was at the time, were really powerful. It wasn't like I distrusted Baz in any way, but you're protective over your family. At the end of the day, we're not going to tell Baz Luhrmann how to make a movie. In the first five minutes, I could feel how much work Baz and Austin put into trying to get it right. That made me emotional immediately. I started crying five minutes in and didn't stop. There's a lot of family trauma and generational trauma that started around then for our family. I felt honored they worked so hard to really get his essence, to feel his essence. Austin captured that so beautifully." - Riley Keough, Elvis Presley's granddaughter, actress and filmmaker

Photo courtesy of Bazmark Films

COPERNICUS

NEWS ANNOUNCEMENT 24 January 2023 Directorate-General for International Partnerships Global Gateway: European Space Agency and the Commission join forces on earth observation for the Philippines

The European Commission has signed a contribution agreement with the European Space Agency to build a national Copernicus data centre in the Philippines, the first of its kind in South-East Asia. W ith ? 10 million funding from the EU bilateral development cooperation for the Philippines, the EU will support the uptake of Copernicus, its ambitious earth observation programme, strengthening the Philippines? resilience to natural disasters and climate change adaptation.

European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen said, ?The EU?s Global Gateway is promoting the green and digital twin transition across the Indo Pacific and driving sustainable investments.

W ith this new Copernicus centre the Philippine authorities will be better equipped to help people respond to natural disasters and climate change. As always, we make the data available for all actors and scientific use.?

The new Copernicus data centre site will enhance the response capability and with that the resilience of the Philippines to natural and man-made disasters through the strategic use of space data. This will help reducing vulnerability of the people of the Philippines to climate hazards, support climate adaptation, food security, and environmental protection. The primary national partners for the CopPhil programme are the Department of Science and Technology of the government of the Philippines together with the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA). This programme will be a building block for the future Team Europe Initiative on Digital Transformation and Digitalisation, following a Team Europe approach with possible involvement of Member States.

The Philippines is a pioneer on Copernicus uptake in ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) with the potential for unlocking economic opportunities and scientific benefits at national to regional level.

Advanced utilisation of Copernicus data and information services will support better policy definition, improved planning, increased transparency, commitment, and accountability.

The Copernicus Programme offers free, full and open data access, enabling public authorities to act quickly and based on scientific information when it comes to emergency management or environmental protection and opening opportunities for the scientific community and the private sector alike.

The contribution agreement was signed by Mr. Koen Doens, Director General for International Partnerships at the European Commission and Mr Josef Aschbacher, Director General of the European Space Agency, in the presence of Pablito Mendoza Deputy Chief of Mission and Consul General of the Embassy of the Philippines to Belgium and Luxembourg.

Copernicus is the European Union's Earth observation programme, looking at our planet and its environment to benefit all citizens. It offers information services that draw from satellite and in situ Earth Observation data.

The European Commission manages the programme that is implemented in partnership with the Member States, the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), EU Agencies and Mercator Océan International.

This new collaboration takes place in the context of the EU Global Gateway Strategy. The Strategy aims at boosting smart, clean and secure links in digital, energy and transport sectors and to strengthen health, education and research systems across the world.

The European Commission National Copernicus Capacity Support Action Program for the Philippines (CopPhil), with a ? 10 M budget, supports the establishment and operations of a National Copernicus data centre and will play a significant role in data and services provision and will ensure that data are processed in line with common fundamental values.

The initiative can be scaled up to a regional level or replicated in other regions of the world.

Photo courtesy of international-partnerships.ec.europa.eu

Fluence Mosaic Opt imizes Global Power Generat ion (GPG)?s ACT Bat tery Fluence's AI-powered bidding software maximizes the value of the ACT Battery and delivers streamlined market operations

MELBOURNE, Australia, Feb. 02, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSW IRE) -- Fluence Energy, Inc. (?Fluence? or the ?Company?) (NASDAQ: FLNC), a leading global provider of energy storage products and services, and cloud-based software for renewables and storage, today announced the deployment of Fluence Mosaic? intelligent bidding software to optimize the performance of Global Power Generation (GPG)?s newly constructed 10 MW / 20 MW h ACT Battery. Using advanced price forecasting and bidding optimization, Mosaic will help GPG Control Room operators ensure that GPG?s battery-based energy storage system is responding optimally to market price signals and reliability needs in Australia?s National Electricity Market (NEM).

Located at Queanbeyan substation within the Australian Capital Territory?s border, the ACT Battery is the first energy storage system operated by GPG, the international power generation subsidiary of Spain?s Naturgy Energy Group. As the first grid-scale energy storage system in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), the asset will perform a strategic role in supporting the local distribution network. The ACT Battery was developed by GPG and connected to TransGrid´s substation to support ACT?s electricity network. The project is part of GPG?s commitment to building the 107 MW Berrybank 2 W ind Farm in Victoria. ?The launch of our first energy storage system is a major step toward strengthening our international presence and our contribution to the clean energy transition. W ith the trust of the ACT government, we selected Mosaic because the software delivers superior results, a clean user interface, and strategic risk management settings,? said Pedro Serrano, GPG Chief Business Development Officer. ?We look forward to working with Fluence to maximize the value of this asset.? ?Fluence is proud to support GPG to maximise the revenue and optimise the performance of its first energy storage system both in Australia and across the world,? said Andrew Kelley, VP and Country Director, Australia at Fluence. ?Through state-of-the-art machine learning, Mosaic allows asset owners to navigate the risk, volatility, and complexity of dynamic wholesale markets. The ACT Battery is a great demonstration of Mosaic?s technology agnostic approach, and ability to integrate with and optimize energy storage systems from any OEM or system provider.?

Mosaic is part of Fluence IQ, an advanced cloud-based platform for wind, solar, and energy storage.

Fluence IQ maximizes the value of solar, wind, and energy storage resources with advanced software products and 3rd party applications. Through AI-powered bidding optimisation, Mosaic incorporates complex market rules and real-time data to maximise participation in wholesale electricity markets and capitalize on the full value available to assets. The cloud-based software supports energy storage and renewable products from any technology provider and is currently optimising more than 5 GW of clean energy assets globally, with a total of over 8 GW deployed or awarded. Mosaic was recently recognized by TIME as one of the Best Inventions of 2022.

© Solos Smartglasses

Pr emier SAPERE AUDE ISSN2799-0702 Vol. 3.1 JANUARY, 2023 ISSUE

The Prague Astronomical Clock / Prague Orloj