A friendly gathering centered on languages, arts, and cultures

About forty students from Mont-des-Accords Middle School in Saint Martin were welcomed to Saint Barthélemy on Monday, April 27, as part of the opening of the fifth edition of the Languages, Arts, and Cultures Festival. The event, which brought together elementary and middle school students from every school on the island, began with music as soon as the ferry docked in Gustavia. The children, accompanied by teachers, then joined other students at the Retrocession Kiosk before stopping at the Brigantin, the Heritage Museum, and proceeding to the plaza in front of Wall House and the Collectivité’s headquarters. There, middle school students from Mireille Choisy opened the ceremony by speaking in several languages (Portuguese, Guadeloupean and Haitian Creole, Italian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Polish, Spanish…). Following the official speeches delivered by Vice-Rector Harry Christophe, Prefect’s Delegate Joris Eberhardt, and Territorial Councilor Francius Matignon, students sang the national anthem and then the anthem of Saint Barthélemy. The children then had the opportunity to spend time together and explore their creativity through various exchanges and workshops. The 42 middle school students from Saint Martin were thus able to discover historical and traditional aspects of Saint Barth. The Languages, Arts, and Cultures Festival is organized by educational stakeholders from both islands, with the support of the local governments. In Saint Barth, the School Affairs Department, headed by Caroline Ramos, was, as it is every year, deeply involved in ensuring the event’s success.