Six months in Lille

Jennifer (L) and Amelia (R) from Leeds have been working in communities in Lille as part of the Lille Civic Volunteers Scheme

In recent years, our partner city Lille in France has been providing opportunities for young Leeds people to do six months of paid community work in Lille.

Through the Civic Volunteers scheme, Lille in partnership with the French association Lille Avenirs recruits young people from Leeds, aged 18-25, who have English as their first language and a good knowledge of French, to take part in their international civic service volunteering programme.

The successful applicants work in primary schools during the school term and in community hubs and holiday centres during the holiday periods.

The offer is intended to reinforce the longstanding twinning relationship between the cities of Lille and Leeds, as well as to support English language learning and intercultural activity in Lille.

Now that their time in Lille is coming to an end, Amelia and Jennifer, the two most recent Leeds recruits shared their experience with our colleague Pauline Gaudeul from Lille's International Relations Team.

Q : Amelia, Jennifer, you are here from Leeds, can you tell us a bit about yourselves? 

Amelia: A bit about me! I come from Leeds the third largest city in England most known for our legendary football club (Leeds United), our vibrant cultural scene and iconic Leeds Festival. I have lived in Leeds my entire life and couldn’t imagine going anywhere else until I got this amazing chance to move to Lille for six months and take on this rewarding opportunity of teaching English through doing civic service.

Jennifer: I come from Roundhay in Leeds, and coming here was a big step out of my comfort zone as I have never been much of a traveller, having mostly stayed in the UK for my holidays growing up and rarely venturing too far from home. This is my first time being by myself in another country without any friends or family, but from this I have been able to become much more independent and confident in myself! 

Q: What do you do exactly in your civic service mission? 

Both: So far, we have been working regularly in a Lille primary school with children aged 4 to 11, playing games and activities that allow them to learn English words and phrases with us. We have also been working with a local Maison de Quartier, not only speaking English with the children but also supporting them with their future trip to Leeds with their young people. We are also helping with the planning of special events at libraries e.g. English Language Day. 

Q: How has Lille been treating you so far? 

Amelia: My time in Lille has been a fast-paced adventure from living the French lifestyle by cruising around the city on the metro, eating an absurd amount of perfectly crisp fries and unmatched café dates with friends, which involved a surplus amount of sweet treats. Although Lille definitely has beaten my expectations I must unfortunately inform you that the weather is in fact the same as in England. 

Jennifer: Being here in Lille has been a fantastic experience that I’m sure will stay with me for a long time. I have been able to meet people from all over the world! It has been so fun to share my culture and experiences with both children and adults here in France while also learning about not just French culture, but those from a range of other countries too, which I had had little experience with in the past. While it hasn’t always been easy to adapt, I have learned so much about working with young people and am constantly finding myself in new situations that I can definitely use in the future. 

Future open opportunities for individuals and groups to link up with Leeds's partner cities will be advertised as they become available.