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©Somme Tourisme - Laurent Desbois/Lwood

Somme Battlefields for Peace

  • 1MVictims of the Battle of the Somme
  • 25nationalities
  • 1HISTORY

Somme Battlefields for Peace

An ethical association of committed partners for meaningful tourism.

The department of the Somme is home to a wide variety of international First World War memorials. Having suffered badly as a result of the Great War, the Somme cannot forget her past and stand by and do nothing, faced with the many conflicts which continue to shake the world.

In the light of this, Somme Tourisme is looking to draw on Remembrance tourism to generate a movement of solidarity towards the countries affected by the present conflicts. As François Bergez, director of Somme Tourisme underlines, “Great War Remembrance in the Somme must serve a humanitarian cause, so that we never forget, and work together to appease suffering in war-torn countries today.”

And so the Somme Battlefields for peace project came to be.

Taking part in the solidarity movement to help countries affected by the current fighting

Détails Tour Ulster©Somme Tourisme - Laurent Desbois/Lwood
Rancourt chapelle©Somme Tourisme - Laurent Desbois/Lwood
Nécropole allemande de Fricourt©Somme Tourisme - Laurent Desbois/Lwood
Rancourt cimetière©Somme Tourisme - Laurent Desbois/Lwood
Last tree©Somme Tourisme - Laurent Desbois/Lwood
Mémorial de Longueval©Ronan Le Bideau

What: 

Ethical finance – ethical tourism

The approach involves raising money from tourists visiting battlefield sites, and sending the funds collected to humanitarian NGOs or those specialised in reconstruction, thereby contributing to bringing peace to war-torn countries. “Somme Tourisme set the wheels in motion and would like to work hand in hand with professionals, associations and elected representatives of the department in the deployment of this charitable cause.”

Objectives: to appease suffering, to give hope to those populations which are still victims of terrible fighting and to bring a form of peace to warring nations.

The association has a global approach, aiming to improve the living conditions of the handicapped and vulnerable through a range of different actions: caring for the wounded, prosthetics and physiotherapy; the clearance of explosives left behind after a war; assisting returns to education or work; disease prevention; calling for changes in national law and international standards…

Humanity & inclusion 

"Nothing is solitary, everything is connected." - Victor Hugo
Mémorial de Longueval©Somme Tourisme - Laurent Desbois/Lwood
Mémorial de Longueval©Ph Feret
 Mémorial de Longueval©Ronan Le Bideau

How ?

A three-pronged collaboration

Somme Tourisme is working with the endowment fund “Essentiem” who have set up a special campaign for donations and the contributions of patrons. To begin with, for a 2 year period, Somme Tourisme wish that this dedicated fund be used to finance an NGO such as “Handicap International”, which works in war zones, bringing medical assistance and moral support to the victims.

Funds will be raised through different means : donation boxes, online participation, events and commemorations.

Somme Battlefields for Peace

Boîte à dons© ADRT80-AW

Who are the actors involved ? 

Collector partners

 

Committed and supportive, the Somme Battlefields for Peace partner-collectors are making a donation box available, including the Historial of the Great War, Somme 1916 Museum, the Underground City of Naours and the "P'tit train de la Haute-Somme", as well as tourist offices (Pays du Coquelicot, Avre Luce Noye, Territoire Nord Picardie, Pays de Parmentier, Val de Somme) and hotels (Ibis Style Amiens Centre, The Originals Hôtel Amiens Sud, Hôtel Moxy, hôtel Mercure AmiensAK Hôtel Amiens). Somme Tourisme has also set up a partnership with the Zénith d'Amiens: an ecocup collected in the eco-collector donates 1 euro to Somme Battlefields for Peace.

Everyone is concerned by remembrance tourism and is hoping that the memory of the Great War can help the victims of countries currently at war. If you feel concerned by the approach, if you wish to know more and become a partner-collector for the Somme Battlefields for Peace movement : Please contact Léa Manot, in charge of the remembrance tourism sector, +33 3 22 71 22 75, l.manot@somme-tourisme.com

Les partenaires Somme©Somme Tourisme - Laurent Desbois/Lwood

Somme Battlefields for Peace’s funds

 

  • 11/11/2022: Launch of Somme Battlefields for Peace at the Historial of the Great War.
  • 11/11/2022 to 13/11/2022: "Rendez-vous with World History". Guided tours of the battlefields of the Somme. The registration is fixed at 2 Euros and is donated to the fund.
  • 27/02/2023: First transfer of 27,000 euros to Handicap International. 
  • 04/04/2023: The total amount of the fund is currently 35,595 euros.
  • 25/04/2023Anzac Week: Several activities are proposed throughout the department. Funds are raised for Somme Battlefields for Peace. Find the full programme 
  • 11/06: "Somme Battlefields for Peace Tour". A musical tour of the Somme battlefields which raised 685 euros.
  • 11-12/11/2023: "Rendez-vous with World History" + Screening of the Netflix film "All Quiet on the Western Front" in the presence of filmmaker Edward Berger. The weekend raised 1308.13 euros.