Francophonie Festival to begin tomorrow

The eight-day Francophonie Festival 2010, organised jointly by the Alliance Francaise de Dhaka, the High Commission of Canada, the embassies of Egypt, France, Morocco and Switzerland, will begin on March 20 in the city. To brief the media on the festival, a press conference was held yesterday at Alliance Francaise de Dhaka.
Robert McDougall, Canadian High Commissioner to Bangladesh; Charley Causeret, Ambassador of France to Bangladesh; Ahmad Al Shourbagy, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt; Driss Hachaq, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco; Gabriele Derighetti, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Switzerland spoke on the occasion.
The festival will include film screenings, contests on French language, open-air concert and more. The programmes will be held at Alliance Francaise de Dhaka, French International School of Dhaka and North South University.
At the press conference, the French Ambassador informed everyone present that 200 million people around the world speak French as their mother language, making it the 9th most spoken language in the world. He also said that French is the other language, apart from English, to be spoken in all five continents, and the third most used language on the Internet.
Robert McDougall, Canadian High Commissioner to Bangladesh said, “This festival will provide an opportunity for us to celebrate not only the French language and the rich and diverse Francophonie culture, but also the values of peace, democracy, and respect for human rights, education and development. These values unite the members of the international organisation of 'La Francophonie'.”
Driss Hachaq, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco said, “As a member state of the International Francophonie Organisation, the Kingdom of Morocco is determined to fulfil its commitments towards 'La Francophonie' and the universal values it represents, such as cultural and linguistic diversity.”
Francophonie is a cultural and linguistic community of more than 200 million people, who use French to varying degrees in their daily lives. Francophonie is also an institutional community of 53 states and governments on five continents. For several years, the French-speaking people across the world have been celebrating the Francophonie cultural festival every March. Francophonie is an annual event meant to celebrate the diversity of the French language. The event represents a remarkable moment of cultural exchange that will strengthen communication and contacts between Bangladesh and French-speaking countries.