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8 March 2022
Our ambassadors
Each month, we invite you to discover the Creil Sud Oise area in a different way through the portrait of 12 Tourism Ambassadors who act daily for tourism in the south of the Oise!
Pascal Gosselin
Director of the Georges Brassens Social Centre in Creil
Pascal was born in Creil, grew up in Creil, studied in Creil and now works and lives in Creil. In short, it is a Creillois, and proud of it. Since 2001, he has been the Director of the Georges Brassens Social Centrean association supported by the city and located in the Rouher districtThe "haut de Creil", which he is keen to promote through its inhabitants.
The Georges Brassens Centre is first and foremost a place where people are involved
The city of Centre Georges Brassens, 12 employees, active and passionate volunteers and 400 member families who all participate, in their own way and on their own scale, in the dense and varied programme of workshops and activities offered every day during the week.
The association aims to be a place of resources, exchanges and meetings for these familiesto accompany them to become actors of the centre at first, then of the neighbourhood and finally of the city of Creil. And when Pascal is asked if he has a concrete example of this development, he quotes without hesitation the Saveurs de Brassens groupA group of women from all walks of life who met nearly 15 years ago at a culinary workshop at the Georges Brassens Centre. These women wanted to develop an activity within the centre: a catering service and a restaurant, and this has been done! Since 2008, Saveurs de Brassens (previously known as Saveurs d'ailleurs) has been travelling the territory and offers catering services for specialities from all over the worldas well as a restaurantall 2emes Thursday of each month (the restaurant activity is currently interrupted due to the health situation) located in the Georges Brassens Centre. Over the years, Saveurs de Brassens has become the showcase of the place and the restaurant has become a meeting point between the inhabitants and those from elsewhere.
As you can see, here we accompanies residents with projects that want to enhance their neighbourhoodTo make their daily lives easier, to make the city more dynamic.
Boosting Rouher and Creil
If you ask Pascal to detail the activities offered at the centre, he will tell you that he can't list them all. And this is quite normal: cooking, repair and computer workshops, games for children, escape games, forest walks, guided tours, museum visits, sewing, discussion groups, training courses (The list is long and is constantly evolving according to current events, but also according to the wishes of members and their needs. We can also talk about day care serviceThis is a service that is primarily intended for members when they participate in the centre's workshops, or when they have a job interview, a training course, or simply need to have some time to themselves.
Whenever possible, the centre's team surrounds itself with actors who are willing to share their knowledge or passion. For example, Pascal can count on theEspace MatisseA place for exhibitions and artistic practices, the Music Barn which is a concert hall for alternative music, the media librariesparticularly that of the neighbourhood Apricotine or even the City House which offers activities on ecology and citizenship. But also social landlords who manage the district's furniture stock and, most significantly, the leaders of places of worship.
Rouher, summer quarter
And of course, when you are so well integrated in your neighbourhood, you create sparks. In 2018, Pascal and his team launched "Rouher, summer quarterThis is a (yearly) appointment given to all those who do not know (or think they know) the sector. Around a strong time that are visits to the 4 main places of worship present in the neighbourhood: mosque, Catholic and Protestant churches and synagogueRouher, quartier d'été" is an invitation to love Creil for what it has to offer: values of generosity, fraternity and sharing.
This initiative, which has already attracted more than 1,500 people, both local residents and curious people from all over the Oise and Paris region, was born of an observation that Pascal made while working with the residents. This observation can be summarised in one sentence: When you criticise the Rouher district, you are criticising its inhabitants. "Rouher, quartier d'été" is the choice of counterbalance the image conveyed by the media.
Creil, it must be earned
For Pascal, Creil is a city that must be earned. If you don't want to know about it, you will miss out on its richness, both historical, patrimonial and human, its inhabitants so real. If you are curious, if you have the will, you may be pleasantly surprised by its generosity, its sense of sharing and the welcome it offers. It is also a booming citywith beautiful projects such as theEc'Eau Port, l'arrival of the TGV, Heart of the City and which leave one dreaming about its future.
