About us

History of the Alliance

Created in 1953, the Alliance Française of Grenada is a non-profit making Grenadian association of private law, linked to the Alliance Française of Paris by a moral bond.

Beyond the teaching of French, the vocation of Alliance is to promote French and Grenadian cultures and to support exchanges between Grenada and France.

Moreover, it is charged by the Embassy of France with implementing a part for cultural action.

As any association, it accounts for a number of members that form its General Assembly and elect its Executive Committee. Mrs Sandra Russo is the current President  having succeeded in June 2009 to Mrs. Hazel Bierzynski and  Mrs. Gloria Keens-Douglas who was elected after the founding president Mrs. Marcelle Hughes.

Emmanuel Vaslin, Christian Mendivet, Christian Terrou, Annick Denet, and Jean-Michel Rousset have all had the pleasure of putting their experiences and competences to its service and discovering "from the interior" a country often compared to paradise.

Since September 2008, the new Director, Philippe Arnaud, recruited locally, has had the pleasure of putting his competence into practice to ensure the proper functioning of the Alliance Française de la Grenade.

People

The Alliance française in Grenada has about 100 members.

Among them the Executive board with its 10 persons:

Mrs. Jill Brayshaw                       President

Mr. Numa Rais                             Vice-President

Mr McKie Griffith                          Treasurer

Mr. David Ambrose                       Secretary

Mrs. Hazel Bierzynski                    Member

Ms. Marisha Charles                      Member

Mr. Ikashacu Hamlet                     Member

Dr. Karim Keita                            Member

Ms. Mae Patterson                        Member

Mr. Solomon Stafford                     Member

Personnel

Two persons are permanently employed with the Alliance:

• Mr. Philippe Arnaud (Director)
• Mrs. Ilona Forte-Gilbert (Secretary, Assistant and Teacher),

……..and one part-time :

Mrs. Frances Bain (Cleaner) who ensures the cleanliness of the premises three times per week.

The Premises and their reconstruction

Acquired by the association thanks to a substantial aid from the French government, the building in which the Alliance Française is currently housed is part of the architectural heritage of St. George's. Successive developments have made this private villa into one of the most seen places in St. George's since it's situated on a headland, which at the same time dominates the Carenage, the commercial harbour and the marina. The space disposes of a parking lot that can accommodate about fifteen cars - considerable asset in a town often saturated with vehicles. Three classrooms, a library with about 3000 books in French, a secretariat and reception area and an office have allowed the Alliance to well manage it's linguistic and cultural activities in excellent conditions until the passage of Hurricane Ivan.

The rebuilding started after the hurricane could be concluded thanks to the goodwill of all.

Mr. Gordon, director of the company Classic Designs hired to complete the work, showed a level of professionalism as well as flexibility, a rare effectiveness and an honesty that was well appreciated.

But it is the role of Numa Rais, who spontaneously proposed to direct the rebuilding process, which was crucial in the success of this project.
French architect residing on the island, he offered his technical skills to us, a knowledge of the exceptional ground and an artistic sensitivity. Thanks to him, the building could be renovated in respect to anti-cyclonic standards: the roof was redrawn, the beams strengthened by metal elements…  The colors chosen for the facades prove particularly happy and cause many eulogistic comments.

On the suggestion of Patrice Busson and Sophie Bureau, visiting from Guadeloupe right after the hurricane to offer their assistance, we removed some partitions. A very large general-purpose area (reception, projection room, library, cyber cafe…) was thus created. The hanging ceilings were removed, revealing splendid volumes and the architecture of the framework.

Right now our building does not go unnoticed: since the hurricane the inscription “The Alliance Française” equips the retaining wall for the car park, visible from many parts of the city… The wall being about fifteen meters in length.

The Wallace fountain

If you passed by the Alliance before, you could not miss seeing the Wallace Fountain which arrived in Grenada at end of the nineteenth century under conditions which still remain mysterious, rescued from being dumped by Alister Hugues in the Sixties (Former journalist with the Associated Press, local scholar who was also a member of the Board of directors of Alliance) and restored thanks to his efforts. Since 2002, the monument was placed under the protection of Alliance where it had been set up.

Then came hurricane Ivan… As of the following day, we discovered the extent of the damage and the Wallace fountain broken. The director took the three caryatids in order to put them safe from possible plunderers. A few weeks later, the other elements of the fountain in their turn were withdrawn from the premises of the Alliance on the initiative of late Alister Hughes, to be stored at one of his/her friends.