BROCHURE

Every year on the 20th of March, Francophone people across the globe celebrate “the Francophonie international day”: the occasion for over 890 million spread across 5 continents to celebrate the common language of French in a diversity of cultures. The French language is currently the second most studied language in the world and has seen rapid growth since 2010, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.  Having been an associated member of the Francophonie International Organisation since 2006, Ghana would definitely not be left out of the festivities.  Over a period of two weeks, from 11^th to 25^th March, the francophone embassies in collaboration with Alliance Française and the Institut Français put together a host of activities: concerts, sporting events, film shows, conferences, quiz competitions, workshops and colloquia, and of course a grand bazaar on the final day. Here are a number of some flagship events that took place.

Francophonie in the fast lane

Early on Saturday 11^th March, men and women of diverse nationalities and backgrounds assembled at the Accra High School to participate in a 10 km marathon - a distance traced through the streets of North ridge to Kanda and back – that was organised upon the initiative of the Swiss Embassy. Many were the motivations for partaking in this sportive venture; some were there to have fun, others for health reasons, or for networking, as well as those who certainly came to win. After enduring sun and sweat, all the runners enjoyed a massage session with refreshments, after which the prizes were presented by Messrs. Roland Fischer and François Schmidt of the Swiss Embassy. The awards which included swatch watches, manicure sets, thermos-isotherm bottles and several paraphernalia, went to the first three for both men and women. The first prize was a weekend for two at La Palm beach hotel in Togo.

Opening Concert at Alliance Française

The mood was a more relaxed one in the evening as the two-week Francophonie festival was officially launched with an opening concert featuring Fafa Ruffino of Benin and Bibie Brew from Ghana. The guest of honour for the evening, Education Minister Hon. Matthew Opoku-Prempeh in his opening remarks, said that government was taking urgent steps to promote the study of French in schools in order to enable citizens interact easily with their Francophone neighbours. This he believed would in turn enhance trade, professional exchange and regional integration.

Fafa Ruffino, a rising star on the West African music landscape took to stage and captivated the audience with her smooth and silky voice, churning out a melting pot of traditional African, soul, R&B tunes in French and Beninois languages. Bibie Brew of ‘Tout doucement’ fame then entertained guests in her own inimitable fashion. In attendance were many members of the diplomatic community in Ghana, notable among which were the ambassadors of Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, France, Lebanon, Mali, Morocco, Niger and Senegal.

Lebanon emerges Francophonie Football Cup champion

There was more sport on Sunday with the kick-off of a football gala held in Dzorwulu where fifteen teams representing Francophone states clashed for honours in a Francophonie Cup full of thrills.

At the end of matches at the group stage, eight teams showed heart to reach the quarter finals, namely: Togo, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Central African Republic, Niger, Gabon and Lebanon which fielded two separate teams. The semi-finals saw Togo crashing out against Lebanon, with Guinea defeating CAR. Thus the defending champions Guinea went into the final in search of a second successive Francophonie cup triumph, but it was the Lebanese that drew first blood before being pegged back in the second half by the Guinean team. Penalties were therefore required to determine a winner and at the end of a pulsating shoot out, the Lebanese won 4-3, much to the dismay of the Guinean supporters who had been vocal throughout the tournament. Trophies along with other awards were presented by the French Ambassador, the Lebanese ambassador, the Chargé d’Affaires of Togo and the Director of Alliance Française.

International Day of La Francophonie – Finals of Grand French Contest

Monday the 20^th of March, 2017 was International Francophonie Day and in Ghana, it was marked with the grand finale of the annual Francophonie competition which was followed by a round table discussion on the joys and challenges of working in a cross-cultural setting.

The day commenced with the finals of the nationwide Francophonie competition which capped off several weeks of preparation and selection of students at the University level. There were four finalists from three universities for this year’s grand finale held under the high patronage of the Ambassador François Pujolas, the Head of Cooperation at the French embassy, Dr. Jean-Luc Mure and the Director of Alliance Française, Frederic Dart. The finalists had to demonstrate their proficiency in French language and their knowledge of general Francophone culture through a variety of word and vocabulary games, oral expression and MCQs. This year’s competition won by Kamba Kombat of the University of Education, Winneba, attracted an audience of representatives from the Ministry of Education, educational institutions, civil society institutions as well as students of the French language.

The contest which was also held in Kumasi was sponsored by the French Embassy, the Consulate of Belgium, the Canadian High Commission, Sam-Woode Ltd., Fanmilk Ltd and Café Mondo.

In Kumasi, the day was marked with a drawing exhibition of the works of George Adu Poku as well as a fantastic French Movie Festival which run the entire day showing movies for all genres for all ages.

Globalisation and cross-cultural work settings

The second part of the event featured a panel discussion drawing on the experiences of four illustrious personalities to address the topic “what people from Anglophone countries should expect when working in a Francophone setting”. The panelists were Mrs. Maa Adoma Afoakwa, a Business Development Officer with Cirrus Oil Services Ltd., Mr. Jean-Pierre Diassouka, Founder and CEO of DIAS Consulting, Mrs. Delphine Adenot-Owusu, Head of France Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Mr. Samuel Owusu-Baafi, Communications Head at the West Africa Civil Society Institute.

The forum centered on the cheers and challenges involved in adapting to a different cultural working environment with specific focus on the Anglophone to Francophone transition. Panelists shared in great detail the differences observed in their experiences with both Francophone and Anglophone working environments and encouraged participants to make the best of their bilingualism to profit from both cultures.

Time to join in the fanfare

All too soon came the final day of la “Quinzaine de la Francophonie” and to bring the curtain down on a spectacular two week celebration, fun fairs and food bazaars were organised on the premises both Alliance Françaises in Accra and in Kumasi. Not only was there a variety of francophone gastronomy but there were also lots of handcrafts, clothes, music, drama and dance on display. At the end of the day in Accra, Mali was awarded the “best stand” whereas the winners for the French Essay competition in the “general public” and “primary school” categories also received a wide range of prizes presented by Julie Fournier-Angelo of the French embassy and Amelie Bordeleau representing the High Commission of Canada. Mrs Sewoenam Chachu took home first prize for the general public category, whilst Spencer Dodoo won the primary school category.

The final act of this year’s festival was punctuated with rib racking laughter as the Cameroonian comedian Charlotte Ntamack put up a vintage stand up performance to close what has been an exciting journey of la Francophonie. She is a member of the famous “Parliament of laughter” that is aired on Canal+ Africa and boasts of other famous humorists such as RFI’s Mamane and Michel Gohou of Cote d’Ivoire.