MADURAI: Today, 20th March 2023, is International Francophonie Day. To commemorate this special day, the Centre for Foreign Languages at Fatima College in Madurai has extended its wishes and greetings to Francophones, made an online Rendezvous by meeting students and alumni via online mode.
Prof.Milton Powers of Centre for Foreign Languages, Fatima College in Madurai had written the following brief write-up about International Francophonie Day that celebrates French language.
Francophone ( Francophonie ) refers to the global community of people and countries using the French language. Francophone means a French speaker. Francophones around the world celebrate International French Day ( La Journée Internationale de la Francophonie ) on 20th March every year to celebrate the French language and culture, and celebrations go for a week. It is celebrated in commemoration of the 1970 Niamey Convention, where French-speaking States signed to align their mutual interest.
The International Organisation of La Francophonie ( IOF ) was created in 1970. The headquarters is in Paris, the capital of France. There are 88 countries as members. The motto Equality, Complementarity, and solidarity (Égalité, Complémentarité, Solidarité) is a deliberate allusion to France’s motto Liberty, Equality and Fraternity ( Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité ). The mission is the promotion of the French language as an international language and the promotion of worldwide cultural and linguistic diversity. It also values the human rights, peace and democracy.
French is the language of art, fashion, love, cuisine, tourism and travel, diplomacy, politeness and clarity. There are 369 millions of French speakers in the world. French is the official language of 29 countries. It is the only language spoken in all the five continents next to English, it is one among the two languages used in Olympics, one of the official languages in United Nations, World Health Organisation, World Trade Organisation etc. French gives access to lot of career opportunities and it is the vastly used language in internet next to English. The French television network TV5MONDE and International French Radio RFI broadcasts the French programs and news.
Various institutions teaching French throughout the world are celebrating the day with lot of activities like Quiz, competitions, cultural programs etc for the French language enthusiasts. The Centre for Foreign Languages functioning in Fatima College, Madurai organizes an online Rendez-vous on this day which enables to meet all the alumni of CFL, most of them settled in French domain and in francophone countries like France, Switzerland, Canada etc.
The Centre for Foreign Languages in Fatima College, Madurai wishes all the French professors, teachers, students and all francophones A HAPPY FRANCOPHONIE DAY. Prof. Milton Powers, Centre for Foreign Languages, Fatima College, Madurai. Mobile : 98421-09298. Email: miltonpowersfr@gmail.com
