DIFC Unveils The Exchange Building
The “Extraordinary Voyages Prize” honours five ambitious projects
5th prize: Matilde Ravano – “Engraving Japan on the go”
Fascinated by the precision and possibilities of engraving, as well as its richness and history, Matilde Ravano from Collège Claparède has decided to travel to Japan. Matilde hopes to follow in the footsteps of Hiroshige, and discover his works and landscapes. Undertaking this journey will also enable her to “physically” reproduce a work of art that is inspired by her travels. That is why Mathilde wants to journey by foot, bike or bus, which will enable her to develop a new style, in a leisurely way.4th prize: Mauranne Falise – “Rooted in the future”
Mauranne Falise, from Collège Sismondi, has decided to visit six European cities (Freiburg im Breisgau, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo and Reykjavik) famous for their sustainable development endeavours. She will contact at least one local business or association in each city that promotes sustainable, innovative or fair values. She will spend a month with each of them, doing voluntary work and finding out how they operate, their ideas and, above all, getting to know the men and woman who are part of these change-making companies.3rd prize: Apolline Dufeil – “Down the Mekong and into my dreams”
Apolline Dufeil, from Collège Claparède, will travel through three Asian countries – Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. She will travel by boat, along the Mekong, so that her work will capture memories made along the water. Afterwards, she will intertwine her artistic notebooks to capture the complexity of the people she will meet and of her dreams. The notebooks are a reminder of the fact that everyone has the right to dream. Every aspect of this work of art will showcase a part of her journey.2nd prize: Rayane Chraiti and Philippine Coutau – “The way of poetry”
Inspired by Amin Maalouf’s book “Samarkand”, Rayane Chraiti and Philippine Coutau, from Collège Claparède in Geneva, have decided to travel to Iran and Uzbekistan, to discover these countries through poetry. They will travel by bicycle to enjoy the countryside and reduce their environmental footprint. They will create an anthology of poems from different sources and eras, illustrated by memories of the journey. Rayane and Philippine will keep artistic and writing journals.1st prize: Chloé Bazin and Paola Arizzi – “In search of matriarchal societies on the roof of the world”
Chloé Bazin and Paola Arizzi, students at Collège Calvin in Geneva, want to meet matriarchal societies in China’s Sichuan and Yunnan provinces and in Tibet. They will travel mainly by foot, train, bus and bicycle to meet people from different areas, in different ethnic groups, who follow different schools of Tibetan Buddhism. In these three areas, the status of women greatly differs. Inspired by Nicolas Bouvier and Ella Maillart, they will endeavour to record their trip using photography, drawings and stories. The 2019 Prize will be opened to applicants in the autumn. Further information is available on the website here www.prixdesvoyagesextraordinaires.chThe QE2 Launches Exclusive UAE Residents Offer
IHG® makes major reinvestment in Burton upon Trent
John Evans, Head of Finance Transformation, IHG, commented: “At IHG we put huge effort into making our business a great place to work. We looked at several potential locations for our new Finance Centre of Excellence, including outside of the UK, however our existing Branston site won hands down. We have a long history here and experienced talent in place, as well as a great location, strong local labour market and excellent transport links. As an organisation, we’ve laid out ambitious growth plans and our recruitment campaign and reinvestment in the facilities here will create a real hub for finance talent in Burton.”
Work is already underway to completely modernise the office space. The interior of the building has been re-designed to create new workspace and recreation areas, which include state-of-the-art technology, new coffee shop, restaurant and gym. IHG’s newest recruits will be joining 100 colleagues currently based at the site. IHG traces its origins back to 1777 when William Bass first opened a brewery in Branston. The business later transformed from a domestic brewer into a global hospitality company. IHG has been accredited as a Top Employer for corporate employees in the UK for four consecutive years, in recognition of its exceptional employee environments, with a focus on nurturing and developing talent across the organisation.Boeing Business Jets Grows Order Book With New Sales
HILTON COMMITS TO CUTTING ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT IN HALF AND DOUBLING SOCIAL IMPACT INVESTMENT
- 33% actively seek this information before booking – of those, 60% conduct research even if the information is not easily accessible
- 44% under the age of 25 actively seek this information
- 36% of leisure travelers actively seek this information, compared to 29% of business travelers
- Female travelers (39%) are more likely to actively seek this information before booking than male travelers (29%)
- Guests staying in Central/South America (46%), the Middle East/Africa (45%), Asia Pacific (41%) and mainland Europe (35%) are more likely to seek this information before booking
- Reduce carbon emissions by 61%, in line with the Paris Climate Agreement and approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi)
- Reduce water consumption and produced waste by 50%
- Remove plastic straws from managed properties
- Sustainably source meat, poultry, produce, seafood and cotton
- Expand existing soap recycling program to all hotels and send zero soap to landfill
- Double the amount spent with local, small and minority-owned suppliers
- Double investment in opportunity programs for women and youth, including partnering with local organizations and schools
- Contribute 10 million volunteer hours through Team Member initiatives
- Double monetary support for natural disaster relief efforts
- Advance Human Rights capabilities in Hilton’s value chain to eradicate forced labor and trafficking
THE HYATT REGENCY BRAND ENTERS THE HOLY CITY OF AMRITSAR
IHG announces opening of Crowne Plaza Riyadh Palace
Pascal Gauvin, Managing Director, India, Middle East & Africa, IHG said: “We are delighted to announce the opening of the Crowne Plaza Riyadh Palace. Tourism is an integral part of Vision 2030 as the country endeavours to attract more foreign visitors as part of the economic diversification strategy. As a result, the hospitality landscape is developing at an astonishing pace and we are keen to take advantage of this massive opportunity. We are delighted to be working with a reputed industry player such as Dur Hospitality and look forward to extending true hospitality to our guests staying at Crowne Plaza Riyadh Palace.”
Hassan Ahdab, President of Hotel Operations Dur Hospitality added: “We are proud to build on our existing partnerships with IHG, who clearly understand the Saudi market and have a proven track record of success here. This opening demonstrates our shared confidence in the future growth of the Saudi tourism sector and we have no doubt that Crowne Plaza Riyadh Palace will add significant value to the city’s hospitality offering.”
The Luxury Collection Hotels & Resorts Announces First Female Chinese Global Explorer
Emirates Skywards introduces enriched family programme to allow 100% pooling of Miles
Emirates Skywards has revamped its family offering to provide a richer, more rewarding programme called ‘My Family’. Family members can now pool up to 100% of Skywards Miles earned on Emirates flights, allowing them to redeem rewards faster than before.
Each member can pool up to 100% of their miles earned on Emirates flights and the nominated contribution of Miles from each member can be adjusted at any time. Emirates Skywards has a global membership of 20 million and all members are eligible to join ‘My Family’. Each account can have up to 8 family members including a nominated Family Head. “We’re always working to enhance our offerings to ensure our members are given greater value, choice and flexibility at every touchpoint across the Emirates Skywards programme. The new enriched ‘My Family’ programme will provide our members with a better, more intuitive customer experience, allowing them to consolidate up to 100% of Skywards Miles earned on Emirates to reap faster rewards as well as tailor the proposition to meet their travel needs,” said Dr Nejib Ben Khedher, Senior Vice President, Emirates Skywards. The new Emirates Skywards ‘My Family’ programme complements the airline’s exceptional family offering both on board and on the ground. In flight, young travellers can look forward to special toys, activity packs, child-friendly meals and dedicated kids’ content on ice, Emirates’ award-winning inflight entertainment system. On the ground, Emirates provides a dedicated family check-in area and complimentary strollers in Dubai and priority boarding for families across all airports. ‘My Family’ is part of the continued evolution of the Emirates Skywards programme to introduce more features giving members greater opportunity than ever to earn Miles and access rewards across its wide range of flights, travel and lifestyle partners. In the last month, the programme gave members increased flexibility in managing their Miles by introducing reduced rates for buying, gifting and transferring of Skywards Miles. Emirates Skywards membership is free. Besides flight rewards and upgrades, members can earn and redeem Skywards Miles through over 100 programme partners including airlines, hotels and retail & lifestyle outlets. Members also enjoy money-can’t-buy-experiences at popular events worldwide and access to 41 Emirates lounges in major cities worldwide. Other benefits include lounge access, priority check-in and boarding and special privileges for Wi-Fi and advanced seat selection on board. For more information visit www.emirates.com/Skywards