Intercultural Trophy for Business Excellence

Boulle International holds a privileged place at the heart of the Franco-British community.

The very nature of our daily activities is to bridge the intercultural gap and minimise the anxiety related to moving home and country.

Since 1997 we offer a bilingual home-finding service focused on facilitating the integration into London.

Property related informative workshops in collaboration with French and UK financial, legal etc experts are held ie ‘Masterclass Acquisition à la mode anglaise’‘.

Time devoted to informing, guiding and reassuring both cultures and developing a sense of trust and mutual respect is at the heart of the enterprise.

Marie-Cécile and her French colleagues train and guide French interns and budding entrepreneurs.

UK homeowners seek advice to accommodate the French investor or tenant.

Sponsorship of cultural events, educational institutions, events and associations is on-going Active promotion and membership of the FCCGB, L’Institut Francais, Intercultural Forums, Entrepreneur’s club!

We are often invited to share Boulle’s intimate know-how of London’s real estate French community and its real estate.

We have contributed to research and articles in various medias, amongst them l’Info,

Middlesex University, French Radio London, Families, Franceinlondon….                        

It is with great delight that we witness the growing understanding between both cultures especially in the educational field.

We would celebrate our nomination for this intercultural trophy as a very special achievement!

Chivas Brothers is the Scotch whisky and premium gin business of Pernod Ricard, the world's co-leader in wines and spirits. It is the global leader in luxury Scotch whisky with 85% market share of Scotch whisky aged 21 years old and over. The company is based in the UK and manages five of the Group’s top 14 global priority brands.

Ballantine’s, the world’s No 2 Scotch whisky brand, is one of these priorities. The brand is also the No 1 Scotch whisky in Europe and sells over 70 million bottles a year worldwide.

Over the financial year ending 30 June 2011, Ballantine’s reached a record milestone in France, selling 1 million 9 litre cases. Chivas Brothers attributes this significant achievement with the effective and convivial relations between our own British company and our French colleagues and distributors, Pernod SA.

Chivas Brothers Global Marketing, Commercial and Communications teams have also invested significant time to create a collaborative relationship with Pernod.

This convivial approach with our French colleagues has ensured milestone commercial success for Ballantine’s in France and helped us to continue to grow in this important market.

ESCP Europe is a unique, pan-European business school with campuses in Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. ESCP Europe has already made a significant contribution to the UK during the last thirty years by educating thousands of (mostly EU) students within the UK and placing them within UK companies via internships. It has over one thousand graduates working in London, including many in the City, across all management levels. By allowing students to study in up to three countries and to gain three national degrees, ESCP Europe contributes to developing students’ intercultural awareness, international adaptability and consequently their language skills. In addition to this, each student has to complete at least two company placements in two different countries, thereby raising each student’s profile and employability by providing the business skills and experience that recruiters are looking for. The combination of studying in up to three different countries and carrying out two company placements in two different countries directly addresses the issues raised in the above-mentioned reports. Educating students to better understand our respective cultures and training them to work in both countries greatly helped develop stronger ties between our two countries and promote Franco-British cross-cultural relations.

For the past 13 years, FranceinLondon.com has been the leading website for all things French in London, promoting to Francophones and Francophiles alike. In its role as a promoter of French culture, as well as continuing its regular newsletters to a substantial and growing subscriber base and fostering interest in a wide range of cultural, political, gastronomic and sporting topics, FIL has been proud to celebrate the 8th year of its on-line vote and gala award ceremony for London’s Favourite French Film, which this year attracted over 5500 voters. As an adviser and consultant to businesses, FIL has provided a platform and entry strategies for new comers to London and the UK and also assisted in the re-launch of existing brands. A hugely successful public relations programme run for Ricard, for example, culminated in a ‘ Ricard Pétanque Garden Party’ which drew over 1,400 people to a great day out at London’s Chelsea Physic Garden. An even greater success in terms of event management was the Bastille Day Ball in Kensington Gardens, attended by 1,600 people of all nationalities. A gala dinner/party to a 1920’s theme, followed by dancing and a wonderful fireworks display, was a tremendous celebration of our ‘Fête Nationale’.  ‘I’ve never felt prouder to be French in London’, a comment made on the evening, expressed the thoughts of many.

Why should FRL win the Trophy for Intercultural Business Excellence in 2011

In November 2011, London’s first terrestrial dedicated French language radio station was launched. Created to serve London’s 400,000 French residents, the sizable Francophone community and most significantly the enormous Francophile market across the UK, this dynamic and talented operation has proved the format, audience and commercial appetite, with advertisers such as Renault, Cointreau, Pierre et Vacances, Ligne Roset, Eurostar, Nicolas, Barbican, Southbank and many more).

From its daily live breakfast and evening talk shows, to its high-quality ‘reportage’ pieces (featuring some of the most influential and high-profile names from both sides of the channel), FRL excites its listeners and advertisers alike with compelling output and innovative brand-led content.

80% of FRL’s music is of French origin; for the work we do in supporting the special relationship France and Britain enjoys in political, social and cultural arenas we are strongly supported by all the key organisations such as the Ministeres de la Culture and Affaires Etrangeres, the French Institute, the Chambres of Commerce, as well as the French Consulate and Embassy, to name but some.

Our mission is to promote and increase the exchange of ideas, content, development and commercial acumen derived from this relationship, and to help drive mutual benefit. A great example of how we galvanise these audiences was demonstrated earlier this year with FRL’s live concert for Fete de la Musique in London (for a 2 minute video go to http://www.frenchradiolondon.com/french/fete-de-la-musique/)

The 14^th Intercultural Trophy for Business Excellence should be bestowed to HD-Translations, a micro company providing technical translation services in English and French.

Over the last decade, day in, day out, this SME has been working relentlessly so that French and English companies can better discuss and understand one another, so that French and English companies can step into new markets and be understood by their new pool of potential customers.

Located in Birmingham, in the heart of the UK, this tiny company hones daily its understanding of the Brits and toils persistently to help them better understand the French.

This SME, like the numerous other SMEs in the UK and France, is the one that is truly building Europe by living and breathing interculturalism. Without such SMEs, there would be no interculturalism.

Therefore, it is time for the people really building a Europe of people to be rewarded and acknowledged for their hard work and tireless efforts. It is time SMEs be rewarded for their invaluable contribution and dedication.

The magazine ici Londres has been founded 13 years ago, in the initial goal of creating a link between the members of the French community. Ever since, we developed consistently around several topics, such as classified ads or administrative advice, through the paper and the active website. Thanks to this global view of the expatriation experience, we became rapidly a reference for the French community in London, already living here or planning to move. Last year, ici Londres launched a new version of the magazine, including a platform of promotion for artists and artwork related to the French culture. It is such a success that a lot of artists contact us now directly from France to promote their future events in London, knowing that the magazine is read widely by both French and British people all over the city.

In a nutshell, by making the whole expatriation experience a little bit easier and by being a powerful tool of communication, ici Londres contributes to let the capital stay an attractive destination for French people, and therefore facilitate the exchanges between Britain and France, whether it is economic or cultural.

Ipsen in the UK is part of the global biopharmaceutical Ipsen Group based in France. Corporate divisions operate from both the UK and France which have resulted in a pool of talent where English and French nationals are employed depending on skills and experience. 

From the early beginnings in the UK up to the present day, the combined French and English teams have achieved major results at a national level and for the Group worldwide. Putting patient care at the centre of product development and supply has been the main contributor to competing effectively for Ipsen in France and the UK. Both nationalities can benefit from and share in multi-cultural exchanges and experiences as well as the ability to share best practices. Secondments to the French sites and vice versa are actively encouraged by management and are viewed as a key element of professional and personal development as well as for succession management.  Although English is the working language, French is widely spoken at a corporate level. Language courses are offered at both sites as personal objectives. French and English language graduates are recruited for cross-divisional positions which contribute to greater cohesion amongst group-wide activities.  UK or France-based companies frequently appear on our preferred supplier list to create closer ties between both countries.  Ipsen is proud of its on-going Franco-British cross-cultural relations. Ipsen in the UK has just celebrated its 30^th anniversary this year with French champagne, at Ascot – a very English institution!

Why King Stage London?

At King Stage London we believe that every student have to develop their skills and get maximum experience to enter the job market. We think that education is an important part of the knowledge but competences acquired during an internship are essential.

We want to give the opportunity to French and English students by finding them the best internship. At King Stage London, we are helping students to acquire a significant professional experience as a first step towards the job market.

King Stage London participates in the collaboration between Great-Britain and France by bringing students with new vision and new way of thinking to English companies. Moreover, we help students to develop and enrich their CVs for a better chance to find a job in this difficult period on the job market.

Les Petites Etoiles is part of the Bilingual Nursery Group (www.bilingualnurseries.com). The raison d'être of our group is to teach language and promote Franco-British cross-cultural relations. We believe learning a second language brings much more than just a new skill. Culture is implicitly tied-in with language and so by teaching both languages to children from age 2 to 5, we allow them to become bilingual and to tap into the these two cultures from the youngest possible age.

We have children from French families, from mixed French-English Families, from English families, and from other non-French international families. The long term benefits to children and society is remarkable; it opens the minds of young children. This inter-cultural awareness combines with fluent language ability, to foster a generation of international-minded children who will grow up with strong ties between France and England - and who have grown up from the youngest age thinking of them as two cultures which are intrinsically linked.

London Macadam the French lifestyle media group

Created in 2003, London Macadam was a precurseur with the first lifestyle magazine targeting French in London. Caroline Sivilia from Publicis launched on her own on the “ macadam “ her lifestyle  magazine who became immediately a success with a strong brand recognition within the French expatriate community and also English Francophiles. London Macadam was nominated « Trophée Sénat rayonnement économique de la France à l’étranger « in 2009 and nominated « talent de l’année 2009 ». London Macadam is now a group with the first web radio podcastable,  www.londonmacadam.com, the first lifestyle web magazine with 2 weekly e newsletter targeting now all Francophiles and being a lifestyle reference for everything French in London.  London Macadam is also the reference in social media with 4 facebook group and twitter LondonMacadam for French in London. Finally, Caroline Sivilia launched the biggest French festival outside France with  “ Bastille Day London” receiving + 10 000 Francophiles visitors at Battersea Park 2009 and 2010. London Macadam is launching in 2011 a French election platform and a Pr agency.

London Macadam had received + 400 articles all over the world Evening Standard, New York Times, A nous Paris, Marseilles, Le Point, Le Nouvel Obs, Time out…). 

If Mazars has one aspiration that runs through everything we do, it is to make a difference. To make a difference to the clients we work for by applying our knowledge and expertise to making them more successful. To make a difference to our staff by creating opportunities at work, so they can achieve professional and personal goals. To our way of thinking ‘opportunity’, ‘success’ and ‘difference’ thrive on innovation borne out of diversity that crosses international boundaries. Our desire to strengthen Franco-British cross-cultural relations is not only driven by our values and commitment to cultural diversity. It is also in the evidence of the rich benefits this brings our clients, and our staff. It is no surprise that 10% of our London-based staff are French-speaking, but it is the knowledge that our multi-cultural teams have created better solutions for our French-headquartered clients operating in the UK (and elsewhere) that makes us proud. A recognition that best equals a blend of the French and British personality. We are also very proud of the ongoing trust accorded to us over the years by the largest companies on both UK and French stock markets and by European SMEs; and we would modestly point out that five of the six previous winners of this award have been (and indeed still are) our clients!

Pernod Ricard’s motto is “local roots, global reach” so we are ideally positioned to promote Franco-British trade and cultural ties.

First and foremost, we do this by developing premium brands that epitomise France and Britain’s cultural heritage and savoir-faire:

·     Bringing premium Scotch to France with Chivas Regal, Ballantine’s, The Glenlivet, and Clan Campbell, and a touch of London through Beefeater gin. 

·     Spreading French culture in Britain through Martell cognac, Perrier-Jouet and Mumm champagnes and of course Ricard and Pernod, that are so distinctively French.

With brands so entrenched in French and British cultures, we are actively involved in creating local events to develop appreciation of the 2 countries’ unique qualities. Examples in London include the Ricard pétanque garden party, the Martell sponsorship of the Diner des Chefs with prestigious Michelin star chefs and the G.H Mumm support of the Academy of Culinary Arts.

As an employer we seek to promote international careers:

·     Our UK businesses have French employees at all levels from interns to CEO.

·     We have successfully promoted British employees to our companies in France to develop awareness of British culture and ways of doing business.

Finally, being passionate about our commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility, we actively support the initiatives of local and French organisations such as the Lycee Francais and Institut Francais.

REED SMITH LLP, one of the 20th largest law firms in the world, is extremely proud of more than 25 years of cultural and business links with France. Our commitment to France and to our French connections continues to increase year on year. Our Paris office has grown by 25% over the past 12 months and by 500% since it was opened 5 years ago. In 2010 we undertook over  €15m of work involving France. We represent 18 out of the CAC 40 companies and  many well-known French owned multinationals and public bodies as well as non French Groups investing into France. We are "Francophile" but also "Francophone" with French speaking lawyers not just in Paris but also in London, New York, Beijing, Hong Kong, Munich, Abu Dhabi, San Francisco and Piraeus. We have a Cross Cultural Blog on our Intranet to ensure a real sense of intercultural awareness in all our staff. We also continue actively to support worthy French causes including Action Contre la Faim, Le Dispensaire Francais, Enfance et Partage. In conclusion Reed Smith lives and breathes interculturalism, a fact demonstrated, for example, by having Peter Alfandary who leads our French Team, assign part of his time as Deputy President of the French Chamber and Chair of its Cross Cultural Relations Forum.