French envoy hosts award ceremony of ‘Francophonie Contest’

ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of France Nicolas Galey hosted the award ceremony of the 2023 Francophonie Contest at his residence here on Wednesday.

This yearly contest was co-organised by the embassies of Belgium, France, and Switzerland, and the High Commission of Canada.

Francophonie designates the common language and values as well as the cultural diversity of French-speaking countries.

In an increasingly interconnected world where 321 million people speak French, students who learn French benefit from many opportunities. The embassies of Belgium, France, Switzerland and the Canadian High-Commission are committed to giving Pakistani French language students spaces to practice their language skills beyond the classroom.

This year, the theme was “Draw Me the Planet” and the candidates had to create a comic-strip in French on a topic related to the environment and climate change. Contenders, who had to be French language students, were divided in three categories – each category had a dedicated theme: - Category 1: “My Favourite Animal” (7-12 year-old) - Category 2: “Acting for the Planet” (13 to 18 year-old) and Category 3: “Climate Change Before our Eyes” (18+ year-old).

From Islamabad to Karachi and Lahore, more than 150 pupils and students allied their graphic and linguistic abilities and submitted meaningful and insightful comic-strips. This contest was an opportunity for them to associate their knowledge of French to a fun and competitive activity and to express themselves on a topic that is now a universal concern: preserving the planet.

The 10 best submissions were selected in each category, based on their creativity and originality. During the award ceremony, 10 awardees of each category were offered their prizes by French Ambassador Nicolas Galey as well as fellow ambassadors and representatives from francophone countries missions.

Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador Galey congratulated the winners of the contest and also acknowledged the hard work of French language teachers who have encouraged their students to enter the contest and who strive to teach them the Francophonie values on a daily basis.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023