On the 4th of June, Guernsey celebrated the hundredth anniversary of the departure of the island’s soldiers of the British Infantry to Cambrai during the first world war. Philippe Bas, former Minister, Senator of La Manche and President of La Manche County Council was present to represent France during this very emotional celebration. Here is an extract from his speech:

“It is a great honour for me to come to Guernsey – which has always been dear to the Norman soul, and will always remain so – to be by your side today and commemorate with you the centenary of the departure of the Royal Guernsey Light Infantry, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Henry de la Condamine, for the battlefields of Northern France.

As President of the Department of La Manche and a member of the French Senate, I am your closest neighbour in Normandy, and I feel deeply moved today as I express the gratitude of the French nation to the people of the island of Guernsey. […]

The sons of Guernsey stood against a determined German counter attack during the war and suffered very heavy losses. Almost every family in Guernsey mourned the loss of a dear one. […]

The purpose of these commemorations, as we enact them today, is to continue the fight to ensure that these tragic events shall never be forgotten, and their importance never undervalued. […]

Our devotion to their memory and our ability to pass it on to future generations not only marks our respect for those who sacrificed their lives but, in particular, testifies to our staunch determination to believe in humanity.” Philippe Bas

   

Exercise ‘Resilient Islands’ is a large scale multi-agency exercise which incorporates the MOD UK Bi-annual Ops Defence Regional Resilience Exercise (CAST).

The overarching scenario is based around an at sea collision between a cruise ship and a passenger ferry in Jersey Territorial Waters. This resulted in both vessels being disabled and subsequently a fire starting on board the ferry.

It also involves initiating military assistance in terms of maritime resilience capabilities and repatriation of passengers and UK Government support from the Resilience Emergencies Division (RED) of the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and activation of the Emergencies Council. The exercise took place in Jersey between the 6th & 10th March 2017.

It is in this context that the Préfecture Maritime de la Manche et de la mer du Nord (PREMAR) participated the exercise by providing their helicopter to help making this exercise a success. This comes to reinforce the close cooperation between French and Jersey sea Rescue services.

In addition to that, thanks to the cooperation between PREMAR’s helicopter and Jersey rescue services, a Jersey woman’s life was saved from falling in Grosnez’s cliffs on 3^rd April.

 

At the invitation of Hervé Morin, President of Normandy, Sir Philip Bailhache and Jonathan LeTocq attended the first prefiguration forum dedicated to Peace. The objective was to gather as many ideas as possible to be able to organize a true Peace Forum in 2018.

With the D-Day Landing Beaches and the Caen Memorial, Normandy is home to iconic locations that regularly host Heads of State and of Government from around the world to commemorate the liberation of Europe and the return to peace.

While Normandy is working to promote peace through its decentralised cooperation efforts, it can also act as the key region for discussing the peace situation around the world in the same way that Davos is the site of debates on economic issues.

It has therefore been suggested that a World Peace Forum should be held every year in Caen in parallel with the D-Day Landing commemorations.

The Channel islands Ministers were pleased to provide Normandy with the support of Guernsey and Jersey to this initiative for Peace.

 

On 22 March, BIAN attended Seanergy in le Havre on behalf of CIMREG (Channel Islands Marine Renewable Energy Group). The objective was to meet French companies and institutions (primarily Normandy) in order to identify ways to work with Normandy on this particular topic. Some action points have been identified and are currently being discussed.

 

On Saturday March 18th Guernsey has welcomed teams and individuals including Soyhuce, a company from Normandy to the Digital Greenhouse to take part in a one day Ideas Hackathon. The workshop posed the challenge; “How can technology promote the Island to visiting cruise liner passengers?”

This day-long event saw teams participate to explore a defined challenge. Rather than a traditional hackathon, in which teams develop code/solutions, this workshop uses HPES tools and business modeling to take you through the stages of idea creation, collaboration and generation of mock-ups of your digital concepts. Therefore, this workshop is a valuable exercise for those interested in how we solve big problems, how technology can drive change and those who wish to learn ways to take an idea from a concept to business model.

In 2016 Guernsey welcomed over 130,000 visitors from cruise liners. This challenge is to take innovative thinking and digital technology to find solutions that promote Guernsey to these visitors, for the benefit of our Island’s economy. You will be asked to consider the benefits for both visitors and local businesses/suppliers/stakeholders in your solution, as well as propose a business model that can support the project.

It was the first time that Guernsey Digital Greenhouse hosts a French company in their event and wishes to attract even more in the future. This reflects the good cooperation between Guernsey and Normandy digital sectors.

   

With the objective to offer an alternative option to UK universities for Jersey students to become bilingual by studying in France post A-Level, the University of Caen attended the Higher Education Fair in Jersey on 9 March. They presented all types of studies that the University can offer from business to languages, arts and medicine but the University particularly excels in History.

We also had the pleasure to welcome the EESAB (Ecole Européenne Supérieure d’Arts de Bretagne) from Rennes on board the fair for the first time this year. They presented their broad spectrum of arts studies available to all students from Europe and elsewhere in the world.

 

Since 2014, Jersey has been working in partnership with the Departmental Council of La Manche to share La Manche stand at the Agricultural Show in Paris (SIA).

The objective of Jersey presence is to promote Jersey’s agricultural industry and products at a key event in France’s agricultural calendar that welcomes around 700,000 visitors/year as well as to endorse the island as a holiday destination. The event is an opportunity to build up contacts and tourists database and to demonstrate the Island’s close links with Normandy and providing a platform for further mutually beneficial engagement.

This year, we were concentrating on the Big 4 – Jersey Lobster, Jersey Oyster, Jersey Royals and Jersey Dairy – a special Genuine Jersey brochure in French focusses on these and was issued and distributed on the stand as well as a “win a holiday” competition put together by Visit Jersey.

This successful experience allows the island to promote itself in France at so many levels thanks to the opportunity provided by the Department of La Manche.

 

A team from the University of Caen will come to Jersey on 9 February to present to the parents and pupils of high school the possibility of high studies in Caen, an alternative to the British universities and a door open on France. An initiative strongly supported by the Minister of Education of Jersey. More information here.

A Channel delegation delegation came to Caen on 8 November to meet with the management and teachers of the ICEP CFA. After a visit of the site to better understand the disciplines taught, discussions were held on the possible ways of cooperation in the apprenticeship, with a focus on the catering. A visit deemed very interesting, facilitated by the Chamber of Commerce of Caen, and in the presence of the Normandy Region, which should lead to a concrete exchange project in 2018.

The French Ambassador, HE Mrs Sylvie Bermann, visited Guernsey on 18-19 October. This was the Ambassador’s first official visit to Guernsey since her appointment as French Ambassador to the UK in August 2014.

The visit of the French Ambassador included various meetings, commemorations and cultural activities. The Ambassador met with Deputy Jonathan Le Tocq and members from the Committees for Economic Development, Home Affairs, and Education, Sport & Culture, as well as representatives from Sark and Alderney, during which issues such as tax and maritime matters were discussed.

The Ambassador also presented the Légion d’honneur to a local D Day veteran during a presentation hosted by HE Sir Ian Corder. This was followed by a short commemoration ceremony at the Smith Street War Memorial to mark the Battle of Verdun and remember the local soldiers, both British and French citizens, who fought in France during the Great War. Her visit also included a short meeting with the Préfet Maritime of Cherbourg who was visiting Guernsey on the same day around other specific maritime matters.