By Ayo Onikoyi
IN a bid to foster stronger cultural diversity and growth between France and Nigeria, this year’s International Day of Francophonie, organised by Alliance Francaise de Lagos in partnership with the Consulate General of France, Consulate General of Switzerland and Deputy High Commission of Canada in Nigeria, marked the auspicious day with movie screenings and an award ceremony.
The day also explored environmental and climate challenges and biodiversity in partnership with Nestle Nigeria.
Speaking at the event in Lagos, Consul General of France in Lagos, Laurent Favier, who spoke on the theme of the event said climate change is a general concern. “The idea is to innovate, find better adaptive solutions to fight against it.”
The mission of the International Organisation of Francophonie, (OIF) is to promote the French language and cultural diversity. “The second objective is to promote peace and human rights, support education and develop economic cooperation, but in a sustainable, development way. Nigeria is surrounded by French-speaking countries and it’s important to be able to communicate and relate with our neighbours,” he said.
Directeur, Alliance Française de Lagos, Marc Brébant, stated that “Journee De La Francophonie is a celebration of French language and is celebrated every March 20th all over the world. Here in Lagos, we decided to mark this day with movie screenings and award the best French students of some secondary schools in Lagos”. Brébant said the competition this year involved 15 secondary schools and 12 winners emerged. He said the movies selected, a French and a Canadian movie, were selected based off this year’s theme.
“The theme this year was chosen by the members of the Group of Francophone Ambassadors (GAF) and has helped consolidate the cultural programming of the Francophonie month in Lagos, Abuja, and in the nine other cities where there is an Alliance Française operating”.
According to him, each year, a theme intended to convey a message about the French language and ten words illustrating it, is chosen by Francophone partners (France, Belgium, Quebec, Switzerland, and the International Organization of La Francophonie) for an initiative called, ‘Tell me ten words.’ This year is themed, ‘Tell me ten words for the planet.’
He added that the OIF’s mission is to promote the language, cultural and linguistic diversity, peace, democracy, human rights, education, training, higher education, research and economic cooperation for sustainable development. In Nigeria he said, French is the first foreign language taught at secondary school level with about 15,000 French teachers, 10 Alliances Françaises, a French Institute and two French high schools.
Deputy commissioner, Canada’s High Commission, Carlos Rojas-Arbulu, said speaking a language that connects Nigerians to the rest of the world is beneficial not just for communication purposes but for education and business. He added that next year, they intend to connect with more partners, engage with more people and build on what they’ve achieved so far.
As part of the celebration, two films were shown at Alliance Francaise Lagos, the first was a screening of Karnaval, a Canadian film directed by Henri Pardo that won the Audience Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. The second, A French film named The Crusade by Louis Garrel (2021) was featured in the Cinema for the Climate selection at the Cannes Film Festival.
Championing their commitment to the cultural, environmental and educational development, Nestle Nigeria, Representing Nestlé Nigeria, Victoria Uwadoka, Corporate Communications, Public Relations, and Sustainability Lead, congratulated Alliance Française on the success of the celebration and commended this year’s theme for reinforcing the importance of a healthy environment.
“We are experiencing severe weather changes unlike anything we’ve seen before, and these are all tied to climate change. Our actions impact the planet, and we must raise awareness about adopting the right behaviours to protect our environment. I’m particularly pleased that we are engaging children and youths in this conversation, ensuring the message reaches every corner. This is why for us at Nestlé, we were happy to partner on this year’s edition of Journee de la francophonie” Victoria stated.
Nestlé Nigeria is advancing sustainability education through its Nestlé for Healthier Kids program, a partnership with state education boards across 35 schools in the FCT, Ogun, and, most recently, Lagos. The program teaches children about nutrition, hygiene, physical activity, and environmental sustainability, equipping them with the knowledge to make informed choices for their well-being.
Through this initiative, children across all participating schools received sustainability education, empowering them to adopt responsible practices in waste management, recycling, and resource conservation.
As part of its support for the event, Nestlé Nigeria sponsored prizes for the winners of the sustainability-themed drawing and writing competition.
Finally, the French Bazaar was rounded out with a karaoke box of Francophone songs, Nigerian culinary tastings, and a DJ set of English and French music.
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