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She wears the French colours proudly and loves nothing more than sharing the culture and language of her home country with islanders. After years of travelling abroad, Camille Perdereau arrived in Jersey in August 2015 to take the lead of the Alliance Française.
It has been a busy summer at the Alliance between the revamp of the French Festival in July and preparing for the new school year. Ms Perdereau took some time in between French lessons to share with us the five things she would change about Jersey.
We are so close to the French coast and yet I hear a lot of people complain that the connections to France used to be easier. How come we have gone backwards in terms of service? I really believe there should be more regular connections to and from France, whether by sea or air.
Pictured: Travelling to and from France should be made easier to help with tourism.
When the French and Jersey authorities sit around a table, this should be a bullet point on the agenda! It should be regarded as public service matter. It also has an immense potential for the tourism industry as more tourists would be able to come to the island.
Being bilingual brings you a lot more than an extra language, it actually helps you understand the structure of your own language better. Recent studies have proved that bilingual people suffer less from degenerative diseases like Alzheimer. In addition, neurosciences have shown us that to become bilingual, it is better to start immersion before children reach 5 years old.
Pictured: Being bilingual has huge benefits and the earlier children learn a second language, the better.
A lot of people want to put their children in a bilingual stream in a Jersey school, and the Ministers have agreed, so what are we waiting for to launch a bilingual reception class? Bilingual classes take children who speak English, and offer them an immersion in the language.
French is an official language on the island, so the Education Department should make it compulsory at GCSE and encourage it at A Level. I see people who don’t dare to speak French because they have no confidence on a daily basis. Well, guess what? It’s never too late, and the Alliance Française is here to help!
Pictured: Camille Perdereau (right) with the Alliance team of teachers and assistants.
I believe that the French heritage in Jersey is to be more valued, and if more shops were able to interact with customers in French, it would be a great added value for tourism and the economy.
Making Jersey a vibrant place involves investing in the Arts & Culture. It means that the States of Jersey and the business community should all contribute more towards events, whether is it a festival, a concert, an exhibition, a play or other artistic forms. Support was withdrawn following the financial crisis but it’s time to get the culture back at the centre of the island.
Pictured: The Alliance Française offered a free outdoor screening of French classic 'La Grande Vadrouille' as part of the French Festival this summer.
Let’s bring free outdoor concerts, street performances, a real cinema offer and much more! But artists and cultural organisations need to be widely supported to provide this rich cultural life.
It is paradoxical that the recycling facilities exist in Jersey, but I find it difficult to get the information about the schedule of collection of the recycling bags. Even at the Town Hall they were unable to give me the schedule and I was asked to call the information centre! The key information should be easily accessible online so that no one has an excuse not to do it!
Pictured: One of the works shown at the 'Climate: State of Emergency' exhibition, highlighting Camille's commitment to combatting climate change.
It’s taken me two years to start recycling because of the lack of information. Let’s have a Recycling Awareness Day and make sure everyone knows what, when and how to recycle. We only have one planet, and people who live in Jersey should be more concerned than the average person on the continent. We can all contribute at our level to the fight against climate change!
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and not those of Bailiwick Express.
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