Martinique Executive Council President Serge Letchimy talks at the opening of the Support Point for Community Life in Sandy Ground.
MARIGOT--The Collectivité inaugurated the first Support Point for Community Life (Point d’Appui a la Vie Associative (PAVA)) in the car park of the former cultural centre in Sandy Ground on Friday. The information point is reserved for associations of the sector and will be run by three Collectivité staff members from the beginning of January 2023.
The PAVA is an office providing support and advice for educational purposes for associations and project leaders. The team in charge of running the PAVA will welcome representatives of associations to accompany them in their administrative and technical procedures. Service provider Cogito has been selected to accompany the Collectivité in this initiative.
President Louis Mussington attended the inauguration, accompanied by Third Vice President Dominique Louisy, Territorial Councillor Martine Beldor in charge of associations, Fabien Sésé representing Préfet Vincent Berton, Senator Annick Pétrus, territorial councillors and local association representatives.
Also present was Martinique Executive Council President Serge Letchimy, who is on a short official visit to St. Martin, with Fort-de-France Mayor Didier Laguerre.
The Collectivité said community life is very active in St. Martin, with many volunteers involved in the sector to serve inhabitants of the territory. Currently there are 300 active associations, 140 of which were subsidised by the Collectivité in 2022 for an amount of one million euros.
St. Martin’s first PAVA is an important step forward for community life in general and Sandy Ground in particular. It is part of a progressive process of professionalisation supported by the Collectivité and its services to serve the population better.
President Mussington and the two elected officials involved in the community field, Dominique Louisy and Martine Beldor, emphasised the need to strengthen social cohesion and engage in actions useful for citizens.
Three other PAVAs will be opened in the territory by the end of 2023, in Concordia, Grand Case and Quartier d’Orléans.
