French Ambassador to Ghana, Anne Sophie Avé became the first guest in this year’s edition of the most influential youth program on Y107.9 FM, the Y Leaderboard Series. Anne Sophie Avé took the youth through her life journey from her childhood experiences, living in a city far from home to becoming a French diplomat.
Born in Fontainebleau a city in France to a father who was a director of a record company and a mother who was a teacher, her family had to move to Brussels, Belgium where her father worked. Therefore, she spent most of her formative years in Belgium, schooling at Lycée Français.
The well-established diplomat said her childhood was very demanding with little room for fun. Regardless of how tough it felt, she acknowledged her parents were right to desire more from her and urge her to focus mostly on academics. “My childhood was demanding and if my parents are listening, I don’t hold it against them at all. They were very right to be very demanding and that has shaped me to who I am. Fun was not really on the menu for me,” she told Rev Erskine.
Anne Sophie Avé also revealed she at a time became a class prefect which eventually earned her the name ‘Social Lawyer’ for mostly interceding on her colleague’s behalf.
“I took my roles very seriously and sometimes the head teacher called when they had to make a decision about a particular student. On those occasions the head teacher will ask me not to defend them but I will plead their cases saying although they may not have good grades give them a second chance,” she said.
Having been a fervent sports person, she believes sports helps implant discipline in a person. She stated that it allows a person to put in a lot of effort to do it right. Using her knowledge in gymnastics, she said, “Being a gymnast has taught me discipline. Every sport you practice when you are young has to teach you discipline. If you do crazy things you’ll just fall of the beam and break your legs.”
Sharing her experiences in Ghana, the French Ambassador established that it was important to share in the understanding of Ghanaians by associating more with them.
Despite the complexity nature of the country with regards to culture diversity, she appreciated the tranquility that exists among Ghanaians. “Ghana is very complex. Yes, there is unity in Ghana and the overall feeling of being Ghanaian but you have always respected and embraced diversity, different languages, ethnicity, culture and tradition and you can never pretend you know a country. Especially if you’re foreigner you’ll have to get close to the people to understand the country and live as close as possible and talk to the people as much as you can,” she emphasized.
Anne Sophie Avé also reiterated the significance of women, stating that women are the pillars of the Ghanaian economy.
With response to why she was willingly leveraging her role as an ambassador and a development queen also called the ‘Nkosuo Hemaa’, to uplift women both young and old, she explained, “Women here in Ghana are the pillar of the economy so you cannot ignore them. The success of Ghana is based on the fact that everyone has a role and women are pillars of the family. When you go to the market, who are those persons selling? When you go to Jamestown to buy fish at the seaside, who are they? Women. They are the traders so they are the pillars of the economy.”
Programmes Manager of YFM, Eddy Blay Jr also mentioned after the interview that this conversation with the French Ambassador was an inspiring and interesting discussion. He also encouraged every girl child to take a piece from H.E Anne Sophie Avé.
He said: “Anne Sophie Ave has been one of the exciting ambassadors in the country. Her passionate understanding of the Ghanaian culture should be applauded. I entreat every girl child in Ghana to exhibit determination, for everything is achievable.”
