VPP Lille
Events
2009
June 9: Cynthia Doell addressed a group of secondary students and teachers from the Lycée Vauban in Aire-sur-la-Lys. She also visited the Municipal Library to mark VPP-Lille's grant to the Médiathèque in the presence of Aire-sur-la-Lys Mayor Jean-Claude Dissaux and representatives, as well as head librarian Veronique Goblet. This event provided an opportunity to promote the American literature.
March 26: Cynthia Doell opened the American Quilt Exhibit, "A Patchwork of Cultures: A Traveling Exhibit from Louisiana to France," in Lille along with Daniel Percheron, President of the Nord-Pas de Calais Regional Council, on March 26. Both her remarks and those by Senator Percheron highlighted the strong ties between the region and the U.S., with Percheron underlining the more than 35,000 jobs that American companies provide in Nord-Pas de Calais.
Caption: Cynthia Doell discussing the importance of the exhibit, with Conseil Regional President Daniel Percheron.
March 14: Cynthia Doell represented VPP Lille at a March 14 opening of the exhibit "Ils ont regardé Matisse" in Le Cateau-Cambresis where leading post-war American abstractionists are exhibited alongside Matisse. In her opening remarks, she stressed the importance of supporting the linkages between the Nord-Pas-de-Calais and the United States. She joined President of the Conseil General du Nord Bernard Derosier as well as more than 500 guests at the opening.
Captions: Cynthia Doell addressing the guests.
Exhibit curator introducing the works to President of the Conseil Général du Nord Bernard Derosier and other guests (Musée départemental Matisse, Le Cateau-Cambrésis, Photos Conseil général du Nord, Philippe Houzé)
February 5: In collaboration with the C.R.D.P Nord-Pas-de-Calais (Regional Educational Resources Center), Cynthia Doell spoke at a February 5 school event to more than two hundred secondary students and teachers from the Lycée de l’Escaut in Valenciennes. She spoke about the history of the African-American community in the U.S. and the civil rights movement. Over the course of nearly two hours of discussion that followed, she had the opportunity to elaborate on a range of topics, including affirmative action, religious minorities, foreigners’ perceptions of the U.S., and U.S. elections. This program provided an opportunity to develop a dialogue with a young audience that was particularly receptive to current issues such as integration and equal opportunity.
Caption: Cynthia Doell addresses students in Valenciennes. Photo P. Leclercq
January 16: Cynthia Doell was the guest of honor at a reception at Arras City Hall in the presence of Hélène Lefebvre, Deputy Mayor in charge of International Relations as well as Denise Bocquillet, Deputy Mayor in charge of Human Resources in Arras. Also present were teachers and headmasters of Lycées Robespierre and Baudomont, both of which have program exchanges with American high schools, and local representatives of American businesses. The event served as an opportunity to discuss future public/private cooperation in 2009.
Caption: Cynthia Doell at Arras City Hall reception
2008 December 5: Ambassador Stapleton made his final official visit to the Lille district. He met with the new Préfet of Nord-Pas-de-Calais's, and marked the gift of American books to the municipal library. This visit also gave him the opportunity to participate in a mentoring session run by Lille's Sciences-po for disadvantaged youth and he spoke to a group of roughly 300 students at EDHEC. Ambassador Stapleton highlighted the United State's ongoing commitment to the region. This visit garnered significant positive media coverage. The regional daily La Voix du Nord (readership: 300,000) covered the visit and Nord Éclair (readership: 40,000) published an interview with the Ambassador. Caption: Ambassador Stapleton at Anatole France. Links: July 8: VPP Lille representatives welcomed Boys and Girls Country (BGC), a non-profit home for children in distress, at the U.S. Embassy in Paris. The Lille Presence Post was instrumental in linking up BGC in 2006 with the Etablissement Public Départemental de l’Enfance et de la Famille (EPDEF) in Blendecques to organize an annual exchange. This ongoing program is an unprecedented and unique opportunity for Franco-American cooperation. Caption: Cynthia Doell meets Boys and Girls Country representatives at the U.S. Embassy in Paris.
April 28: Maureen Guttman, Director of the Pennsylvania Governor’s Green Government Council, visited Lille as part of wider speaker program organized by the U.S. Embassy in Paris. She spoke to 40 regional businessmen on April 28 on "The Green Building in Pennsylvania." The conference was hosted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the AmCham Nord. April 11: Catherine Witherspoon, an international consultant on air quality and climate change issues, discussed California climate change policy with 50 participants at the Regional Council. April 1st: U.S Commercial Service representatives Robert Connan and Joseph White were in Lille to discuss environmental development opportunities in Northern France with Jean-Pierre Giboz, the Director Investment of Commonwealth of Pennylvania, Nord France Experts, the World Trade Center and AmCham Nord. January 16: Stressing the importance of seizing opportunities to improve one’s future, Consul Jeffrey Hawkins addressed a group of 70 young people at the Ecole de la Deuxième Chance in Margny-Les-Compiègne on January 16. Joining Hawkins in lauding the school’s efforts were Sous-Préfet Gabriel Aubert, Margny Mayor Olivier Rochereau, Compiègne Deputy Mayor Michèle le Chatelier and U.S. Embassy First Secretary Cynthia Doell. 
September 4-5: the French Center for Foundations (Centre Français des Fondations) held a seminar on community foundations. Danah C. Craft, Vice President of Programs and Constituency Services at the Washington, DC-based Council on Foundations, offered the keynote speech at the event, sharing insights from twenty years of experience in American philanthropy. This program offered an opportunity for the U.S. and French philanthropic communities to come together and initiate an exchange of information and best practices on a new concept to French philanthropy: community foundations.
Caption: Fondation de Lille Secretary General Charles Proy, Fondation de Lille President and former Prime Minister Pierre Mauroy, Centre français des Fondation Director Béatrice de Durfort and Council for foundation Vice-President Danah Craft.
Centre français des foundations http://www.cf-fondations.fr/
Council for Foundations http://www.cof.org/
Fondation de Lille http://www.fondationdelille.org/ 
July 3: Within the framework of the active partnership linking VPP Lille and the Northern branch of the American Chamber of Commerce, AmCham Nord hosted an Independence Day reception in Arras City Hall in the presence of a number of private sponsors, the Mayor of Arras, Jean-Marie Vanlerenberghe, as well as Cynthia Doell who addressed more than 80 business representatives from Metropolitan Lille. Caption: Cynthia Doell addresses distinguished guests during the AmCham Nord reception in honor of the Independence Day.
February 12: Ambassador Craig Stapleton traveled to Lille on February 12 to host a farewell event for Consul Jeffrey Hawkins and honor four key regional partners. The event marked the opening of a new chapter with the creation of a Virtual Presence Post (VPP). More than 150 distinguished guests and business representatives from Metropolitan Lille were in attendance.