Council for Culture Conference 2013

Transcription

1 Education, Sport and Culture Council for Culture Conference 2013 Saturday, 30th November 2013 Great Hall, Highlands College

2 Welcome Jersey s links with France, through the Duchy of Normandy, are an important aspect of our historic identity. Our laws were made in French until the Occupation and the French language persisted in the transfer of property into the twenty-first century. French remains an official language of the States of Jersey to this day. Yet the links are not purely historic. Regular meetings are held between Jersey and both Ille et Vilaine and La Manche, and earlier this year the president of Basse-Normandie made an official visit to the Island. These formal links have been reinforced recently in a series of cultural projects with both Brittany and Normandy; further initiatives are planned for 2014 involving the arts and heritage. This year s conference looks at some of the background to these projects and to the philosophy of cultural support in France, based powerfully on the idea of cultural equality, of providing opportunities across the community and of extending culture to all citizens. A connection between contemporary links with France and our history is provided through Jèrriais. Whether in the names of houses, roads or locations in Jersey, the language remains visible. But what is the purpose of learning Jèrriais? We shall hear from a distinguished academic, who has a specific interest in Jèrriais, about the importance of an understanding of the language in the modern world. The States Cultural Strategy already addresses our links with France but an aim of the conference is to extend the discussion further and to try to inform thinking about the way in which the strategy is developed. We hope that you will help us in this respect by participating in a practical session, something that a number of participants have specifically requested at the conference. After the conference a digest of the conference will be published on the States website ( 2

3 Timetable Time Speaker Topic Coffee and registration Deputy Rod Bryans Assistant Minister ESC Rod McLoughlin ESC Tom Dingle Jersey Arts Trust Welcome and introduction The French Connection Recent Cultural Projects Benoît Lemennais Cultural Democratisation in France everyone s business Coffee Dr Mari Jones University of Cambridge Jon Carter Jersey Heritage Why learn Jèrriais? The Coin Hoard and Ice Age Jersey Links with France Lunch Lunch Highlands Restaurant Jeremy Harris Head of Policy and Strategy, ESC/Deputy Rod Bryans Deputy Rod Bryans Workshop session Summing up and Looking Ahead A finger buffet lunch will be served in the Highlands Academy restaurant. Using either exit door, take the nearby staircase to the ground floor corridor, turn left and leave the building by the exit at the end of the corridor. Turn right and you will find the restaurant in the building which faces the exit gate of the College. (Access is also available via the car park, avoiding the stairs). 3

4 .Visiting Speakers 1. Benoît Lemennais Cultural Democratisation in France everyone s business The idea of cultural democracy is built-in not only to cultural provision in France but also to the very language which is used to discuss and debate it. Benoît Lemennais explains something of the way in which culture is supported in France and looks at a justification based on reaching out to as wide a public as possible. He focuses on some specific arts programmes and activities which are currently in train in Basse-Normandie. Benoît Lemennais is head of artistic and cultural education for the Conseil Régional de Basse-Normandie based in Caen. A graduate in performing arts and cinema from the University of Rennes, Benoît is also a practising artist working with different performance techniques including video, dance and theatre. His work for the Conseil Régional involves building audiences for cultural activities and he has worked particularly with young people and vulnerable individuals. Among his other responsibilities, he is also in charge of cultural co-operation between Basse-Normandie and Hordaland in Norway. 4

5 2. Dr Mari Jones Why learn Jèrriais? Dr. Mari Jones is Reader in French Linguistics and Language Change at the Department of French, University of Cambridge and Fellow in Modern and Medieval Languages at Peterhouse. She has devoted a large part of her academic career to studying the Norman French spoken in the Channel Islands and has visited Jersey on many occasions to interview speakers of Jèrriais. Her extensive publications on Norman French include the monographs Jersey Norman French (Blackwell, 2001); The Guernsey Norman French Translations of Thomas Martin: a linguistic study of an unpublished archive (Peeters, 2008) and Variation and Change in Continental and Insular Norman (Brill, forthcoming) and the volumes she has edited recently on language revitalisation include Endangered Languages and New Technologies and Endangered Languages: Documentation, Revitalisation, Pedagogy (Cambridge University Press forthcoming and 2013). She has also written an Introduction to Jèrriais, published by Le Don Balleine. At the University of Cambridge, Dr Jones teaches Jèrriais as part of the degree course in French Linguistics. She has given talks about the nature of Jèrriais and the way in which the language is being revitalised in France, Germany, the Netherlands and New Zealand and Jèrriais will form the subject of her forthcoming keynote address at the 2014 international conference of the Association of French Language Studies. 5

6 The French Connection Introductory presentations At a practical level there are close working relationships between the States of Jersey and the départements of Ille et Vilaine in Brittany and La Manche in Normandy. In the past 12 months or so, particular emphasis has been laid on developing partnerships between Jersey cultural organisations and French counterparts. An introductory presentation by the Cultural Development Officer, Rod McLoughlin and Tom Dingle, Director of the Jersey Arts Trust, looks at some of the work which has taken place in recent months and which is planned for The Coin Hoard and Ice Age Jersey Links with France Jon Carter, Director of Jersey Heritage, explains the importance of two major heritage projects which will help expand our awareness of the significance of our cultural links with France and the way in which collaboration with French cultural institutions can help illuminate those connections Workshop session facilitated by Deputy Rod Bryans using the open space technology method The seven aims of the Cultural Strategy (2005) 1. To foster, develop and strengthen the Island s identity 2. To make cultural activities integral to the economic and social development of Jersey 3. To help develop and boost economic activity 4. To enrich the quality of life for all residents and enhance our visitors experience 5. To help develop culture at the grass roots 6. To help foster lifelong learning 7. To widen access to, and participation in, cultural activities 6