Join AAWE Today!
We are a bicultural community of primarily American women living in France. We also have members across Europe and around the world. Our dynamic and diverse community represents a range of ages, backgrounds and experiences.
Once you are a member we encourage you to get involved!
We are so happy you have joined AAWE! Once you obtain your member login info please click on the links below to learn how you can get involved with AAWE. We look forward to getting to know you!
Visit www.aawe.wildapricot.org/join-us to join AAWE today!
Click the +’s to Learn About All Our Member Benefits.
Balancing Bicultural Lives
- Quarterly AAWE News magazine with club news, photos from events, profiles of members, and all the details on happenings in the club.
- Weekly emails with upcoming event announcements.
- Guest speakers and resources on: filing US taxes, citizenship for children born in France, US voting, financial planning, applying for French nationality, bilingualism and biculturalism.
- Members-only website with resources for living a bicultural life in France.
- Divorce Support Groups, Bereavement support.
- Professional skill-building workshops and guest speakers; plus volunteering opportunities on Global Issues and topics related to the United Nations through FAWCO.
- Professional networking in in-person events and the private AAWE LinkedIn Group; plus international networking through FAWCO events and its Facebook Group.
Family and Educational Resources
- American holiday celebrations for children: annual Halloween parties and visits with Santa
- Education resources for parents and students: a bi-annual “What School is Right for My Child” Fair that highlights bilingual education options, and an annual University Fair
- Academic awards for AAWE members and their children : www.aaweparis.org/awards and www.fawcofoundation.org
- In-house library of college prep workbooks and information on summer camps and programs in the US.
- Youth programs through your FAWCO membership.
Fun and Social Events
- Cocktails, annual all-member parties and a holiday market.
- Running teams: La Parisienne (in September) and Les Rochambelles (in Caen in June).
- Book club, writing group, film club, cultural outings, bridge lessons.
- Younger Wonders group (members under 50) with evening and weekend gatherings.
- BBX Sisterhood group gathers “members in the middle” (born 1955-75 approx.).
- Guest speakers or workshops on (for ex.) health, wine, gastronomy, culture, menopause, sexology…
- Monthly Saturday morning Coffee Meetups and regular weekday Happy Hours.
- Seniors group: lunches, caroling, social events, bridge games, workshops on using social media and the internet and a bi-annual Retire and Thrive Fair
- Handicrafts groups: making American-style homemade crafts.
- Volunteer opportunities with local charities, refugees…
Plus!
- Member discounts for American Library in Paris, Amis du Louvre, Carte Sésame and other local businesses.
- Free FAWCO Membership, which allows you to open an account at SDFCU with a foreign address.
And, most importantly, lifelong friendships!
Click the + to Learn About Our Membership Categories
Regular Members:
Women who hold American citizenship and are living in France on a long-term basis.
Associate Members:
English-speaking individuals with strong American ties who adhere to our mission.
While both membership categories enjoy the same benefits and pay the same dues, AAWE by-laws state that the office of President may only be held by a regular member of AAWE.
Click the + to read a testimonial about AAWE from a daughter of an AAWE member.
Two years ago, my mom handed me an AAWE membership registration, with the words: “…join AAWE; if you have an American passport and dual nationality, it is thanks to them.”
My mother never considered AAWE to be just a social club. For her, it was a “cause” – an association that exemplified a bicultural, bilingual world in which my parents believed. Until the political ramifications of 2016, it was a world I rather took for granted and considered my just due. Interestingly, it is only now, when the whole idea of “dual nationality” seems to strike fear in those who believe in politically-closed borders, that I realize just how much I have at stake. Or, how ridiculous an idea it would be for me to be forced to choose one nationality over the other.
I am a 26 year-old graduate student at the University of Cambridge. Whilst I can’t participate in AAWE activities (other than reading the News and the weekly e-announcements, which for some reason make me terribly nostalgic), I will be sending in my membership fee once again this year out of support for what AAWE stands for.
A lot of effort went into making me bilingual and bicultural. My mom spoke English to me, my dad French; my parents stood patiently hopeful as my monolingual cousins seemed to be passing me by in the language lane. My mother dragged me to AAWE children’s events so I could get that taste of Americana and socialize with other young practitioners of franglais. The AAWE Guide to Education was a well-thumbed addition to our home library. Functioning in two languages and two cultures became the norm for me, not the exception.
Passport renewals at the US Consulate were a special time. I knew my mom was proud to take me to that little American island in the middle of Paris. I wouldn’t even have had that American passport to renew (and you wouldn’t either) if it weren’t for a group of AAWE women who started a group lobbying against US citizenship law 301 (b) which stated that I would lose my American nationality if I didn’t live there five consecutive years before age 23. If I am a bicultural “world citizen”, it is thanks in part to the support and activism my mother found in AAWE. And now, if my bicultural status or dual nationality is questioned, I know that AAWE will rally as an association to be out there “protecting the American citizenship of members and their children, especially in cases of acquisition of another nationality” (AAWE By-Laws Article 2 Purpose).
So…AAWE adult children and grandchildren, if you are in possession of more than one passport, if you speak more than one language, join AAWE out of support for what the association historically stands for. Add your single voice to their chorus of experienced citizenship rights advocates – AAWE has been at it since 1961. Our strength will be in our numbers. Support your mom’s courage to have taken the richer “road less travelled” to biculturalism. The AAWE membership fee is a small price to pay to acknowledge your thanks and support.
Believe in biculturalism, I do.
-Daughter of AAWE member
