THE International Organization of Francophonie (OIF) members have organized a series of events to mark the Francophone Day that is known in French as Journée Internationale de la Francophonie which aims at promoting language, cultures and diversity.
The series of events was launched on Wednesday with all events expected to officially start next Friday. The climax is expected to be held on March 17 this year in Dar es Salaam.
Starting next Friday, the film tittled ‘L’employée du mois’ ( the Employee of the month) and a panel discussion on gender gap at work will be organised by the Belgium Embassy.
It will be followed by soccer tournament the next Saturday which includes eight teams from Francophone countries with the theme “Come and support your favourite team” organized by Morocco embassy.
On March 13, there will be a projection of a movie called “Une rivière métissée” followed by a panel discussion to be held at the Alliance Française of Dar es Salaam. The projection is under the Canadian embassy.
Also, the ‘Promesses de la Langue’ exhibition which is a visual art, with portraits of French-speaking Tanzania will be held at Alliance Française, Dar es Salaam on March 15th.,.
On the same day, a live concert will be performed by Kenyan artist Michel Ongaro, as a special edition at Alliance française of Dar es Salaam.
Alliance Française of Dar es Salaam, will screen a projection of a Canadian movie “Au Revoir le Bonheur” on March 16th. The projection is under the Canadian Embassy.
Movie Screening by the Pool: “Le Voyage du Prince” and then “Adama” will be screened at the French School Arthur Rimbaud, on March 17th, 2023.
Some events organized will start at 6 pm while others will begin at 7:30 pm.
Speaking on the history of the French language, the Ambassador of France in Tanzania, Mr Nabil Hajlaoui noted that approximately 1.5 million Tanzanians are proficient in French, which is the only foreign language other than English to be offered as an option throughout the school curriculum.
He said that the language is the fifth most spoken language, comprising 300 million speakers worldwide. By 2070 the average number language speakers is estimated to reach 800million.
He added that most of the language speakers are Africans with 32 states and international organisations such as the African Union and the East African Community making it an official language.
Ambassador Nabil said in Tanzania the number of students and professionals learning French keeps on increasing due to the commitment by French government in country.
Revealing the objectives of promoting the French language and cultural diversity, the France ambassador elaborated that since 1970, 21 countries signed the treaty of creating the agency for cultural and technical cooperation.
The first step was to become the OIF and now the organization comprises 88 member states and governments.
He stated that another objective is cooperation in other fields, such as peace, democracy and human rights and support on education, training, higher education and research.
“This is the second international language most used in the media, and, importantly, the third most important business language,” he said.
Tanzania shares land and sea borders with some Francophone countries. The countries are Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Mayotte and the Reunion.
“It is also linked to the Indian Ocean, either by the coast of mainland Tanzania or by the archipelago of Zanzibar and many countries in this region are totally or partially francophone, including Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and the Union of Comoros, to name only the closest,” he added.
