Member of Youth Parliament Emma Brown recently returned from a trip to beautiful Brittany in France. In this article she discusses here experiences and the community feeling she discovered there.

This Summer Holiday, I was lucky enough to travel into the wonders of Brittany for two weeks. The main objective was to help improve my French for French GCSE, but I found myself wondering into little beaches and crepe huts getting a glimpse at the hidden treasures of Brittany. Staying in Le Conquet I was amazed by the vast history of fishing and lighthouses which is essential to the identity of the northwest of France. One of the highlights of my two-week trip was a speedboat trip around the islands of Molene and Ouessant; both islands are self-sufficient and have developed communities in which they can supply for themselves.

While exploring these islands it struck me about how important community is to these people, how those people around them were their suppliers of food, doctors and dentists. This made me think about Youth Parliament and how we strive to help in our local communities for young people.

For two weeks, I swam in the cold sea and enjoyed the amazing food that France has to offer. The local boulangerie had an array of different pastries which are signatures of Finisterre, they are also very well known for their butter!! In addition, the seafood was also very fresh!

Unusually, I was lucky to go to the fete de la crepe which is a huge part of the identity of Brittany, all members of the town were cooking and serving crepe with all the proceeds going to helping the local community. This highlighted to me the strong regional identity of this section of France and how all members of the community contribute and take pride in their town and country.

I loved seeing all of the types of French cuisine and celebrations!

Emma

Did you know that Somerset Youth Parliament isn’t just it’s elected members? Any young person in Somerset aged 11-25 years can become a member of the Somerset Youth Parliament Advisory Group.

For more information about becoming a member of the Somerset Youth Parliament Advisory Group and to join, visit Join us page.