Henri and Maria Teresa Celebrate 10 Years of Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation

Photo: © Cour grand-ducale / Claude Piscitelli / tous droits réservés

On March 6th, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa received in audience the Board of Directors for Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation to celebrate its tenth anniversary. The Grand Duchess is herself a member of the Board of Directors, a role she has held since the Foundation's inception in 2008. Upon this tenth-anniversary occasion, the mandates established by founder Muhammad Yunus were reaffirmed, with the ongoing commitment to practicing financial inclusion and provide fair financing opportunities for those in need. Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation offers financial support in 28 countries; approximately 75% of recipients are women.

The audience was held at Château de Berg.

Information from the Cour website.

Maria Teresa Participates in "Streetwork Uewerstad"

Photo: © Croix-Rouge / Sven Becker

On March 1st, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa participated in the initiative "Streetwork Uewerstad," which provides support to those who need a meal, a place to rest, and access to necessary services. Managed by a group of experienced professionals, "Streetwork Uewerstad" is part of the Luxembourg Red Cross welcomes around 50 people each day The Grand Duchess, who is the President of Luxembourg Red Cross, took time to meet with the homeless around Luxembourg City during the visit and to voice her ongoing support for relief efforts.

Information and another photo from the Cour website.

Alois and Sophie Welcome the Swiss President

Photo: llv.li

On March 5th, Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie welcomed Alain Berset, the President of the Swiss Confederation, who is on an official visit to Liechtenstein with his wife Muriel Zeender Berset. They greeted the couple at Schloss Vaduz, after which the President met with Prime Minister Adrian Hasler for bilateral talks. His wife paid a visit to the Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein during the meeting but then met back up with him for lunch with the Prime Minister and his wife, Councilor Aurelia Frick and and her husband, and Councilor Mauro Pedrazzini and his partner.

In the evening, the President and his wife returned to Schloss Vaduz for a dinner given in their honor by Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie. The couple was also invited to view many of the important works of art housed in the castle. The official visit will run from the 5th to the 6th and also includes skiing with the Hereditary Princely couple.

Information and more photos at llv.li.

Henri and Maria Teresa Attend Screening of "Ashcan"

Photo: © CNA / Romain Girtgen / Cour grand-ducale

On March 2nd, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa attended the screening of the film Ashcan, which reveals the history of the secret prison that held high-ranking Nazis following the Allied victory in May of 1945. The prison, which was run by the US Army, was located in Mondorf-les-Bains in the southeastern part of Luxembourg and held 72 inmates. Originally a luxury hotel in a spa town, the prison was converted into a high security prison after the war. Without applying torture techniques, the members of the US Army were able to extract important information from the prisoners about the Nazi regime, with much of this information used later in the Nuremberg trials.

Ashcan was directed by Willy Perelsztejn and blends documentary footage with theatrical performances.

Information from the Cour website and Film Fund.

Grand Ducal Couple Visits Homeless Shelter

All photos: Cour grand-ducale / Claude Piscitelli

Earlier today, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, together with the Minister of Family and Integration and the Greater Region Corinne Cahen, visited Wanteraktioun in Findel, which offers a warm place to stay for homeless people in winter.

In the morning, the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess took the opportunity to talk to the homeless who spent the night at home, as well as with the volunteers who are assigned to meal distribution and organising activities for those present.

Wanteraktioun, an additional homeless shelter for wintertime, was opened by the Ministry of Family in 2001 with the aim that not one person needs to spend cold winter nights outside.

Hereditary Prince Alois Attends Education Forum

Photo: Daniel Ospelt / Vaterland / vaterland.li

On March 2nd, Hereditary Prince Alois was in Triesen to attend the 5th Liechtenstein Education Forum (Liechtensteiner Bildungsforum). The theme of the event was "Multilingualism and Digitization," and language, or rather the understanding of multiple languages and their overlap in the 21st century, was the primary focus. Discussions explored complex issues of word choice and sentence structure, along with multilingual usages that have entered a language family and evolved into familiar expressions.

A little more information at Vaterland.

Stéphanie Attends Exhibition Opening

Photo: Mudam / Marion Dessard

Earlier this evening, Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie attended the the opening of the exhibition João Penlava at the Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean. "The Portuguese artist João Penalva creates poetic fictions, that stimulate our imagination. His visual tales, whether of an intimate character or large staged installations, combine painting, photography, video and documents; image, text and sound. His works plunge the viewer into a world that oscillates between reality and fantasy, in which the tenuous line that separates them is not always distinguishable", says the Mudam. 

Meeting of the Fondation Board of Directors

On the 28th of February, the Board of Directors for the Fondation du Grand-Duc et de la Grande-Duchesse met at Château de Berg. (The Board of Directors includes the Grand Ducal couple and the Hereditary Grand Ducal couple.)

At the meeting, Mike van Kauvenbergh was named as Director for the Fondation.

Grand Duke Henri Receives Public Services Delegation

Photo: © Cour grand-ducale / tous droits réservés

On March 1st, Grand Duke received in audience the following delegation: the Minister of the Interior, Public Service, and Administrative Reform Dan Kersch, along with individuals from the Corps grand-ducal d'incendie et de secours (CGDIS, or Grand Duchy Corps of Fire and Rescue).

Information, along with the listing of the individuals above, available on the Cour website.

Grand Duke Henri Receives Five Ambassadors

Photo: Grand Duke Henri with Rigoberto Gauto (Paraguay) /
©Cour grand-ducale / tous droits réservés

On the 28th, Grand Duke Henri received in succession five new ambassadors for the presentation of credentials: Rigoberto Gauto from the Republic of Paraguay; Kim Hyoung-zhin from the Republic of Korea; Zacharie Richard Akplogan from the Republic of Benin; Manasvi Srisodapol from the Kingdom of Thailand; and Esther Rabasa Grau from the Principality of Andorra.

More photos at the Cour website.