A weeklong Bangladesh Francophonie Festival begins

In celebration of the French Language and the cultural diversity of the Francophone community, Bangladesh is resonating again to the shared values of “La Francophonie”: respect for the rule of law and human rights, gender equality, solidarity and cultural diversity. This year, the festival will be celebrated under the theme “French, a hospitable language”. 

The diplomatic missions of the six French-speaking countries represented in Dhaka -- Canada, Egypt, France, Morocco, Switzerland and Vietnam along with Alliance Française de Dhaka (AFD) and Alliance Française de Chittagong (AFC) are organising a series of cultural events including film and documentary screenings, concerts, art performances, magic show, debates, essay writing competition, French courses and more as part of the Francophonie week (March 12-22) 2015. A joint press conference was held yesterday at AFD in Dhanmondi, Dhaka to launch the Francophonie Festival for this year.

Aubert Sophie, Ambassador of France to Bangladesh; Benoît-Pierre Laramée, High Commissioner of Canada to Bangladesh; Mahmoud Ezzat, Ambassador of Egypt to Bangladesh; Said Kasmi, Charge d' Affaires, Embassy of Morocco in Bangladesh; Caroline Trautweiler, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh and Nguyen Quang Thuc, Ambassador of Vietnam to Bangladesh spoke on the occasion.

Aubert Sophie introduced the context of the 2015 Bangladesh Francophonie Week at the press conference. She said, “Francophonie is above all a community of countries sharing values and ideals. This is a community willing to welcome the nations who subscribe to its convictions. And this is an open community, with a desire to cooperate closely in order to benefit from the experience of all the members of the community, for the welfare of their citizens. One of the main characteristics of Francophonie is the solidarity linking its members. This Francophonie solidarity appears in many fields: democracy and human rights, education, gender equality, sustainable development, digital culture and more. In Bangladesh, as for France, our goal is to give you the opportunity to know more about this special commonwealth that all of its Francophone and Francophile members have built together throughout the years.”

Benoît-Pierre Laramée said, “Francophonie week is a celebration of the rich cultures and of the common values of its member nations: peace, democracy, respect for human rights, sustainable development and solidarity that unite the members of La Francophonie. It is celebrated well beyond the Francophone world, in over 100 countries.”

Mahmoud Ezzat said, “Such a significant cultural event shows clearly that different nations with different cultures, can work together for promoting peace, democracy, human rights, economic co-operation, cultures exchange and understanding among peoples.”The International Organisation of “La Francophonie” represents one of the largest linguistic zones in the world. Its members share more than just a common language; they also share the humanist values promoted by the French language.