The 27th edition of the International Francophonie Days at the University of Zielona Góra was opened today by Dr. Małgorzata Łuczyk, Prof. UZ - Dean of the Faculty of Humanities. - Language education is exceptionally important in today's world, where borders are fading not only between countries, but also between people, enabling them to function in different communities, places around the globe, or work environments. Therefore, caring for foreign language teaching and disseminating knowledge about cultural diversity are extremely important.
The annual organization by the employees of the Romanistics Workshop at the Faculty of Humanities and students of French philology - Francophonie Days - serves precisely these purposes - promoting the French language and culture, for which I would like to sincerely thank and wish successful celebrations - said the Dean. Benjamin Girodeau, attaché for language cooperation at the French Embassy, who spoke about the evolution of the perception of the French language in Europe from the Enlightenment to the present and its perspectives (From the language of the Enlightenment to modern Francophonie: evolution of the perception of French in Europe and current perspectives). After his speech, Attache B. Girodeau met with the Vice-Rector for Student Affairs at UZ, Prof. Barbara Literska.
During the Francophonie Days at UZ, a series of lectures and presentations in the conference room of the University Library and three competitions were planned: for the Francophonie Days logo for students in grades 7 and 8 of elementary schools and two editions of the France Knowledge Competition - for upper secondary schools and UZ students.
The event is accompanied by an exhibition of film posters from the collection of the University Library of Zielona Góra: French cinema in Polish film posters (1st floor of the UZ Library).
Francophonie / La Francophonie - is a term that means a community of people and countries using the French language. The French geographer Onésime Reclus first used this name in 1880.
According to the France-Poland Association, today, over 300 million francophones speak French, including 67 million French people. This number is constantly growing, mainly due to demographics in Africa, where 59% of the population speaks French. According to forecasts, by 2070 there will be 477-747 million francophones, and French will become one of the 3 most common languages in the world. Today, French is already the third language of business, after English and Chinese.
The International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) was established in 1970 to institutionalize cooperation between countries that share linguistic, cultural, or historical ties with France, as well as values such as international peace, democratic governance, and environmental protection. Currently, the Organization has 88 member or observer states, with a total population of 890 million people. Poland has applied for membership in the International Organization.
Photographs: K. Adamczewski
