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)
