The CEDAACE

The Centre Départemental Artistique pour l’Animation et la Culture des Enfants (Departmental Arts Centre for events and culture for children) was set up in 1893 by the Departmental Council of Reunion and a group of motivated teachers.

Its purpose was to develop and promote all forms of artistic expression (theatre, dance, visual arts, writing, games etc.), at a time when there existed few events aimed specifically at young people. It was set up in close collaboration with the Musée en Herbes and the Georges Pompidou Centre in Paris.

With the years and as other structures have developed cultural activities for young people, the CEDAACE now focuses its actions on school pupils through the organisation of competitions in Reunion and in the Indian Ocean zone, contributing to the development of the French language, notably through the Championnat Régional d’Orthographe (Regional Spelling Competition).

The CEDAACE works to actively combat illiteracy by organising a range of workshops and participating in French language week, as well as the Printemps des Poètes event. For several years now, pupils from the area above Saint-Paul have been holding ‘poetry evenings’ for their parents at the Chapelle Pointue on the site of the Villèle museum.