State House Opens Its Doors

This year State House celebrates its 100th anniversary of existence. As part of activities to mark this special celebration, the Office of the President is organising a series of Open Day tours every Friday of the year, until the last week of November. 

This will give the Seychellois people, as well as visitors to the islands, an opportunity to discover this magnificent historical site, as well as the chance to learn more about the way the State House functions, the history of the building as well as the garden, which is considered the most beautiful in Victoria.

Guided tours will be will be conducted by staff of the National Heritage Department for different groups and sectors of the society on the historical and administrative aspects of State House. 

The first groups to be organised for the Open Day tours are the students of all the schools of the country starting with post-secondary, secondary and primary schools,  as well as the University of Seychelles. 

Each educational establishment will select 15 students for the tour. Tours will also be organised for groups from different government ministries, community groups, the private sector and NGOs, and the public in general. Tourists will also be able to visit, and their tours will be organised through the tour operators.

The first Open Day tours took place this morning, where the children of Doves Choir, as well as the children of State House staff came to explore the State House and its grounds.   The children had the opportunity to greet President James Michel and ask him questions. 

They were followed by students from the University of Seychelles, the Maritime Training Centre, the Seychelles Institute of Technology, the School of Business and Secretarial Studies, and participants of the Military and Police Young Leaders Programme.

As from Friday 18th February there will be eight guided tours for groups of 15 persons every Friday, which amounts to 480 persons visiting the State House every month.

Editors' Note

 

- Anyone can come to the Open Day tour provided a request form is completed, which may be obtained at the reception at the gate of State House, or email opendays@statehouse.gov.sc to get a form. State House staff will contact the persons interested to visit, in order to confirm the date of their visit.

- The tours will be conducted at these times:

Mornings                                            Afternoons

08:30 - 09:30am                              01:00 -2:00pm                                  

10:00 - 11:00am                              03:00 - 04:00pm

- While entrance to State House is free for Seychellois citizens and residents, tourists will need to pay a fee of 100SR, just as it is the case at for the entrance tothe Botanical Gardens.