20/03/2024 On the occasion of the International Day of La Francophonie – 20 March, the exhibition 'La Francophonie and University Diplomacy' was opened at the National Assembly

20/03/2024

On the occasion of the International Day of La Francophonie - 20 March, the exhibition "La Francophonie and University Diplomacy" was opened at the National Assembly. The event, organized by the Vice President of Parliament Filiz Hyusmenova and the Chairman of the Committee on Direct Participation of Citizens and Interaction with Civil Society Valentin Tonchev, in partnership with the Embassies of the French Republic, the Swiss Confederation, the Kingdom of Morocco and Romania in Bulgaria, was held in honour of the 53rd anniversary of the International Organization of La Francophonie.

The exhibition includes 20 panels that show various aspects of the activities of representatives of the academic world in the Francophonie space.

National Assembly Vice President Filiz Hyusmenova expressed her satisfaction that the legislative institution is hosting such an event. Today is a true celebration of the freedom-loving spirit, the inexhaustible striving for cultural renewal and development, she stressed and added that this is how values such as peace, democracy, tolerance and solidarity are affirmed. According to her, French is the language of beauty, diplomacy and culture.

The growing complexity of global, multilateral and cross-border challenges requires the creation of a space for dialogue and cooperation between politicians, diplomats, academics and researchers, said Valentin Tonchev, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Direct Participation of Citizens and Interaction with Civil Society. He recalled that Bulgaria introduced the study of French as a first foreign language at the end of the 19th century and joined the International Organization of La Francophonie in 1993 at the initiative of President Zhelyu Zhelev.

Joël Meyer, the Ambassador of the French Republic to Bulgaria, defined the celebration of the International Day of La Francophonie as a celebration of the dynamism of parliamentary diplomacy. According to him, French is increasingly becoming a language related to business, science and innovation.

The opening of the exhibition was attended by the choir of the 9th French Language School "Alphonse de Lamartine" and the choir of Sofia University, "Linguaccord". The event was also attended by MPs, French language teachers, public figures, journalists, representatives of the diplomatic corps and the French Cultural Institute in Bulgaria.