Accueil des Villes Françaises
Actually, it was such a beautiful day we sat outside by the pool and basked in the wonderful sunshine; after all this is the south of France!
Taking over the reins from Alain Versmée, Madame Gimenez became President of the URAVF in October 2003 and is enjoying the role (albeit a demanding one) immensely. She is a very charming and dynamic lady with a lovely sense of humour. Her enthusiasm for the association and desire that all newcomers should feel at home here was very evident throughout our interview. For her it was very important that in-coming families would find a warm but professional welcome from any one of the 38 centres under her umbrella.
Madame Gimenez explained how each centre was looked after by dedicated but unpaid volunteers. Each in-coming family was looked after by fully trained hostesses who were there to provide help ranging from local information, brochures, lists of addresses, answering queries to solving problems.
In most centres the AVF hostesses were bi-lingual. Some centres were lucky and had a few Anglophones as volunteer hostesses.
Although the AVF cannot actively assist someone in finding lodgings, they do provide a list of local estate agents. They also hand out a list of useful names and addresses of medical services, doctors, dentists, day care centres, local schools, utilities services as well as responding to other queries.
More remarkable was the fact that this help is generously provided and offered free of charge. Pausing for a moment to take a sip of iced water, Madame Gimenez went on to explain how important it was to the AVF that professional training be given to all volunteer hostesses.
The association felt that training was an essential part in providing quality service, an understanding of human relationships, team work and personal development. By joining the association you automatically receive their newsletters and colour magazine, and can participate in events, meetings, family outings and pic-nics. You can also take language and computer courses, gymnastics, attend workshops such as computers, oil painting, cookery, water colours to name a few activities. Subscription fees seem to differ between centres so it’s best to check with your local centre what their rates are.
And, if you have any spare time you too can become a volunteer.. If you’ve lived in a town for less than 3 years you can join the association. Those of you who have lived there for more than 3 years, membership means that you pledge to help, to the best of your abilities, with the activities and the organization of the association.
For the moment, most of their brochures, literature and other printed matter is all in French. This may be a hindrance for some of you if your French is a little below par. Hopefully, in the not too distant future, the AVF will translate some into English.
We find it a shame that the AVF is so little known outside of France. You’ll generally find “one-liners” about them in books or websites but nothing more substantial. So we hope that, in some small way, we’ve contributed in bringing this very worthwhile association to your attention.
The AVF have established three well defined stages: Pre-Welcome, Welcome upon Arrival and Follow Up.
Pre-Arrival Support: this initial stage provides the in-coming family with local information and a tour of their new town and surroundings. This stage also helps in understanding the different utilities needed (EDF, GDF, phone, etc.) as well as what schools are in the local catchment area, assistance with any administrative formalities, and so on. The Pre-Arrival Support form can be obtained directly from their website, as is the case with AVF Nice, while other centres can be contacted by e-mail or phone.
Welcome upon Arrival: this aims at facilitating contact amongst other newcomers, giving further on-site practical assistance, and contact with other AVF members in order to establish a first network of friends with people of all ages and nationalities. Another gesture that helps with integration is a personal meeting with the town’s Mayor. The AVF organizes a group of new comers to meet and talk with the Mayor of their new town. We thought this was a lovely way to become part of a community; l’Enteinte Cordiale at its best.
Follow up; on-going follow up that lasts, not just for a couple of weeks, but for as long as it’s needed.
By joining the association you automatically receive their newsletters and colour magazine, and can participate in events, meetings, family outings and pic-nics. You can also take language and computer courses, gymnastics, attend workshops such as computers, oil painting, cookery, water colours to name a few activities. Subscription fees seem to differ between centres so it’s best to check with your local centre what their rates are.
And, if you have any spare time you too can become a volunteer.. If you’ve lived in a town for less than 3 years you can join the association. Those of you who have lived there for more than 3 years, membership means that you pledge to help, to the best of your abilities, with the activities and the organization of the association.
For the moment, most of their brochures, literature and other printed matter is all in French. This may be a hindrance for some of you if your French is a little below par. Hopefully, in the not too distant future, the AVF will translate some into English.
We find it a shame that the AVF is so little known outside of France. You’ll generally find “one-liners” about them in books or websites but nothing more substantial.
So we hope that, in some small way, we’ve contributed in bringing this very worthwhile association to your attention.
Contact Details:
Association Accueil des Villes Françaises
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