Alliance Française - Parlez vous Francais?
siddlobo
30 September, 2008 17:09
Welcome to the third article in easyexpat’s series on
language and cultural institutes. In this issue, the spotlight is on Alliance
Française, an organization whose main mission is to promote French outside its
own country’s borders.
While most people can manage ‘Bonjour’ or the famous ‘Bon
Appetit’, this wasn’t enough for some French lovers. Set up in 1883 by a group
of eminent men including the scientist Louis Pasteur and the writers Jules
Verne and Ernest Renan, this institution’s aim is to spread the French language
throughout the world. A mission well accomplished with a network of over 1071
institutions in 133 countries, from far the largest in the world! From India
to Australia, UK
to U.S, every year approximately 440,000 students learn a few more French words
at one of its many centres. In fact, so great is its success in spreading the
French language and culture that in 2005, along with the Societe Dante Alighieri,
the British Council, the Goethe Institute, the Instituto Cervantes and the
Instituto Camões, the Alliance
Française was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for outstanding achievements
in communications and the humanities. (More)
Festivals in Europe this October
siddlobo
24 September, 2008 22:05
Autumn Festival, Normandy, France
19th October – 30th November
The Autumn Festival in Normandy
features top productions in theatre, dance and music. It presents 60
performances in cities including Dieppe,
Rouen and Le
Havre, as well as smaller towns like Le Grand-Quevilly
and Montivilliers. Highlights of this year's event include homage to all things
Argentinean with a carte blanche to Belgian choreographer Wim Vandekeybus.
http://www.automne-en-normandie.com/entertainments/index
Eurochocolate, Perugia,
Italy
18th - 26th October
If you’re a chocolate lover, this is the place to be. This is Europe’s
most popular chocolate festival and has made Perugia
the chocolate capital of Europe. For nine days, this town
transforms itself into a huge open-air pastry-shop dedicated to chocolate
lovers from all over. But not only do you get to indulge in chocolate, you’ll
also learn everything there is to know about the "food of the gods". Give
in to your sweet tooth, head for the Eurochocolate. (More)
Cervantes Institute – Espanola anybody?
siddlobo
17 September, 2008 14:26
In this week’s article, the spotlight is on the Cervantes
Institute. Established in 1991, the Cervantes Institute is a non-profit
organization created by the Spanish government to spread Spanish language and
culture to the rest of the world. Named after Miguel de Cervantes, the author
of Don Quixote and seen as one of the most noteworthy figures in Spanish
literature, this institution has earned itself an excellent reputation. In 2005, along with the Societe Dante Alighieri, the British
Council, the Goethe Institute, the Alliance Francaise and the Instituto Camões, the Cervantes Institute was
awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for outstanding achievements in communications
and the humanities. Modeled
on the principles of the Goethe Institute, it is now the largest organization
in the world responsible for promoting the Spanish language and culture. With
over 54 centres in over 20 countries, it’s easy to see why. (More)
Goethe Institut – promoting German language and culture
siddlobo
04 September, 2008 04:25
Since most readers of easyexpat.com are generally globe trotters
who call many countries home, we’ve decided to do a series on various prominent
institutions that bring their country’s culture to the world. Today’s article
focuses on the Goethe Institut.
Established in 1951, the Goethe Insitut is a German
non-profit organization set up mainly to promote the German language and
culture outside German-speaking countries. It was set up initially to provide
training for foreign German teachers in Germany
but it has now grown into a worldwide institution with over 3300 employees and
approximately 278 million euros at its disposal. (More)
