Furthering diplomatic ties: Alliance Francaise unveils new team for cultural development

The biggest French language training institute in Pakistan plans to further their diplomatic mission.

KARACHI:

With new teachers to teach the French language to Karachi residents, Alliance Francaise de Karachi has exciting events planned for the coming months.

The leading French language training institute in the country, Alliance Francaise has played a pivotal role in the strengthening of ties between France and Pakistan. Addressing a press conference on Thursday, its president Johara Alatas was of the view that the institute was a major resource of cultural exchange between the two countries. Speaking on the occasion, the newly appointed cultural counsellor at the French Embassy in Islamabad, Martine Herlem-Hamidi, appreciated the institute's efforts in promoting the French language and culture in Pakistan. On her first visit to Karachi, she remarked that she was pleasantly surprised by the city's warmth, "not just in terms of the weather but also the people." The French Embassy fully supported Alliance Francaise as it was the key player in the diplomatic, educational and cultural ties between the two countries. To this effect, Jean Francois Chenin, the institute's director, apprised the media of the management's future plans which included a restructuring of the language training syllabus, developing ties with partner institutions and organising cultural events for the benefit of the Pakistani citizens.



The new development manager, Marion Rolland, who can also speak Urdu fluently, said that her mission was to teach French and improve the cultural ties between the two countries.

Another new member of the team, Eric Touze, who has been given the designation of the learning manager, told the media that he would be teaching French in the IBA and NED besides conducting the language training sessions at the AF.

Interestingly, the AF, in its attempt to revolutionise the teaching standards of the institute, has adopted new teaching tools, which include an interactive white board and a dedicated website for French learners in Pakistan where they can interact with each other and also with their teachers from across the country. "We also have new course material and have conducted teachers' training courses in order to improve their teaching skills and apprise them of the new methods," revealed one of the teachers, Laurent Elisio Bordier.

With respect to cultural events and future plans for the AF, Chenin said that they planned to open a restaurant in the premises which would serve French and European cuisine. The restaurant is expected to be launched in February next year. He also revealed the institute's plans to open a bookstore in the premises which will be launched in partnership with Paramount Publishers. The AF also plans to organise a European Film Festival from October to December this year in which a European film will be screened every Tuesday at its premises. Apart from that, a 'Free Time Rendez-Vous' is being organised in collaboration with City FM89 where amateur artists will be given a chance to perform in front of the audience twice a month.

Chenin also unveiled the plans for the major international conference, New European contributions to the study of Sindh and Blaochistan, to be held in February 2014. At this point, Hamidi interjected him to say that this was a big opportunity as several eminent scholars from France will be participating in the conference.

"These are exciting times for us and we hope we are able to achieve what we have set out to do," Chenin smiled.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 5^th, 2013.