Mélanie Laurent
“Throughout this new exhibition, each and every one of us is invited to become a privileged observer of the incredible beauty of the polar worlds, but also an informed witness of their great fragility…”
Mélanie Laurent,
Ambassador of the “POLAR MISSION”
To those who see ecology as punishment, I would answer that we must think in terms of solutions. I was lucky enough to discover this at a very young age, thanks to an upbringing based on common sense: limit waste, eat well… It is better to set an example than feel guilty, to educate than be contrite, to act than procrastinate. It is this vision that I wholeheartedly choose to anchor in my projects.
The Ocean is a challenge. Even though the alarm has sounded, we must not let it paralyse us. Awakening people’s consciences, yes. Offering them solutions, even better! It is this enlightened optimism that I share with the Oceanographic Institute of Monaco, and I am particularly proud and happy to be associated with their exhibition “POLAR MISSION”, as ambassador.
When Prince Albert I created this institute more than a hundred years ago, he gave it the mission to “get to know, love and protect the Ocean”, which he never stopped exploring to support science. On several occasions, this great visionary explorer went to the Arctic, already aware of the essential role that the poles play in the balance of our planet. Poles that, like the rest of the world, are threatened by climate change, which is responsible for the melting of glaciers at a dangerous rate, by pollution, overfishing and the extinction of species.
Throughout this new exhibition, each and every one of us is invited to become a privileged observer of the incredible beauty of the polar worlds, but also an informed witness of their great fragility. By becoming true reporters, visitors of the exhibition will not only be able to understand the mechanisms involved in the uttermost parts of the Earth, but they will also be able to bear witness and get involved. We can all contribute at our level. An individual responsibility for a great collective mission: to re-enchant the world.