About us

History

Mr. Lennox John created the Alliance Française of St. Vincent in 1969. He was then elected as its first President. He retained this position until the 16th of December 2002, with interruption with Mr. F. Irwin Jack, when he Mr. John, chose to turnover this responsibility to Mrs. Flavia Howard, the former Vice-President.

In 1969, the members were mainly French teachers and businessmen who had a common interest in French language.      

Everything changed after the arrival of the first linguistic Attaché sent by the then French Ministry of Co-operation in 1981. Classes began, scholarships were granted and a educational mission was initiated.

Since 1996, the Alliance has been based in Kingstown, in a 19th century building whose rehabilitation was financed by the French Mission for Co-operation. At the beginning, this building was the National Library, ‘Old Public Library’, founded by Mr. Carnegie, an English philanthropist. For more information, please write to the secretary of the Historical and Archeological Society of ST Vincent & The Grenadines, Paul Lewis ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )

Reopened to the public during the inauguration on the 16th of February 1996, the Alliance receives an average of 180 – 200 students per term.

With the nomination of a Director “detached” from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs since September 1992, The Alliance of St. Vincent and the Grenadines has taken a new dimension. We now belong to a local associative environment, our status is registered at the local authorities and we are a part of the international network of Alliances Françaises (http://www.alliancefr.org) .

A non-profit-making Organization

The Alliance Française of St. Vincent and the Grenadines – like all the other 1085 Alliances in the world – is a non-profit making organization. It is like in each country, autonomous, registered next to local authorities and administered by a committee comprised of members belonging to the economic, cultural/educational and scientific spheres. The statuses are approved by the Alliance Française of Paris (http://www.alliancefr.org/spip) which defines its principles and mission statements; i.e.: the obligation for the organization to remain neutral to all political, religious or racial orientations.

An Oganization for public Use

Recognised for public use by the French public authorities, the Alliance Française of St. Vincent and the Grenadines benefits from the support of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (http://diplomatie.gouv.fr) through the French Embassy to the OECS in St. Lucia (http://www.ambafrance.org.lc).

The Board

The staff