Two students from the Department of French will be representing the UK in the Bastille Day parade in Paris on Monday 14 July.
Ellie Clampin, an MA student in Modern French Studies (Paris) and Mark Harrison, a BA (Hons) student in French and Drama and who was awarded a 50th anniversary scholarship to study at the University’s summer school in Paris in 2013, were nominated for the honour following a request by the British Ambassador to France.
This year’s Bastille Day celebrations will be used by the French to launch commemorations for the centenary of the First World War. More than 70 countries involved in the war have been invited to send military and youth representations to take part in the annual military parade along the Champs Elysées.
The British Ambassador to France, Sir Peter Ricketts, asked Dr Ana Medeiros, Director of the University of Kent at Paris, to nominate two Kent students to be among four young people representing the UK.
He wrote: ‘As well as having a solid reputation for educational excellence, it would be particularly fitting for the University to provide students for the Bastille Day parade given the close association that Kent has with the First World War and the millions of men and women who embarked from its ports on their way to the Western Front.’
Ana de Medeiros commented: ‘I would like to thank the Embassy for honouring the University of Kent with this invitation. Ellie Clampin and Mark Harrison are delighted to play a role in this historic event and represent the University in such a meaningful manner.’
To find out more about the Bastille celebrations, please see the page here:
http://en.parisinfo.com/discovering-paris/major-events/paris-celebrates-july-14th
Update: please see the University of Kent at Paris Facebook page for photos of the event.