Francophonie Festival 2024 in Bangkok: A Colourful Celebration of French Language and Culture
By Kathleen Pokrud
Every year in March, Francophonie is celebrated worldwide. Workshops, debates, conferences, exhibitions and other cultural events are organized in many countries dedicated to celebrating the French language and Francophonie values such as peace, solidarity and cultural diversity.
For the 2024 edition in Thailand, the Embassy of Canada acting as the coordinator, in collaboration with Alliance Française Bangkok as well as the embassies and delegations of member, associated and observer countries in Thailand, including Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Morocco, Mexico, Romania, Switzerland and Ukraine, recently organised and hosted the Francophonie Festival here during the month of March. This year's events included an online national dictation, a gastronomic and cultural fair and the "Francophonie Celebration" day.
The Francophonie Festival kicked off with the online Francophonie Dictation, with the participation of over 30 public schools from across Thailand. The celebrations continued with the "Diversity of Francophonie: Gastronomic and Cultural Fair". The event welcomed over 500 people at Alliance Française Bangkok, including ambassadors and representatives from the participating embassies, together with a delegation from the International Organization of Francophonie. Visitors participated in activities offered by the different countries, including culinary delights, tourist information, short film screenings and a singing contest. The contestants were evaluated by a prestigious jury composed of HE Ms Sybille de Cartier d’Yves, ambassador of Belgium to Thailand, HE Ms Ping Kitnikone, ambassador of Canada to Thailand, HE Mr Jean-Claude Poimboeuf, ambassador of France to Thailand, and HE Mr Patrick Hemmer, ambassador of Luxembourg to Thailand.
The Festival concluded with the "Francophonie Celebration", which took place at the Canadian ambassador’s residence. The day was dedicated to French learners over 200 Thai middle school, high school and university students who joined in numerous language and Francophonie-related games.
These events allowed Thai people to discover and appreciate the French language as well as the cultural diversity of Francophone countries. With over 300,000 estimated French speakers in Thailand and more than 50,000 students learning French, this language holds a special place in the country, being the third foreign language taught after English and Mandarin.
The Francophonie Festival in Bangkok once again demonstrated the importance of the French language and cultural diversity, thereby strengthening ties between Thailand and Francophone countries worldwide.
