Episode 9: Francophonie Week

On this episode of Kaleidoscope Kids, you'll hear about Francophonie Week and how we celebrate this occasion in Australia.  Here are our segments:

1:15 Community Connections
You'll hear an interview between the IGS students and Denis Morandet, the General Manager of the Alliance Française.

French Translation:
Q: Bonjour, Mr. Morandet. Thank you for joining us. My question is: What impact does French culture have on daily life in Australia?

DM: The impact of French culture in Australia is certainly multifaceted. It touches all the arts .Over the past three week we had Celebrations in Adelaide, we had the Night of Ideas in Melbourne, we had the pleasure of welcoming a conductor and her sister who is a soloist.

I would say that currently the most important impact is perhaps the Alliance Française for the French Film Festival. Forty French and Francophone films on the bill throughout Australia for five weeks.

Q: Hello sir, my name is Marcel. My question is, why do we eat French cuisine in Australia, and do you like French cuisine?

DM: Hello Marcel, do I like French cuisine? No, I don’t like French cuisine, I love it. Why do we eat French cuisine in Australia? Certainly, it is a fine, elaborate, very varied gastronomy. We are lucky to have tasted cuisines from all over the world in Australia. Especially from a wide variety of Asian or Pacific countries.

But French cuisine stands out for its know-how, flavors, and quality of products. It has a somewhat international success that we are all very, very proud of.

Q: Why is the Alliance  Française important for Australians?

DM: Why is the Alliance  Française important for Australians? I would say that what is essential for Australians is the network of French Alliances in Australia. The Alliances have been present in Australia for one hundred and thirty years. They constitute a bridge, a bridge between France and Australia.

Our two cultures, they allow for an exchange. They also allow Australians to get closer to a culture they love. French culture and Francophone cultures. They allow them to learn French. And I think they are the illustration of the solid, unbreakable bond that exists between our two countries.

Q: Why should Australians learn French? 

DM: There are many reasons to learn the French language. First of all, it is a global, worldwide language. More than three hundred and twenty million people speak French in the world. Eighty-eight states or governments use the French language. It is also a language for the international job market.

The ability to speak French is an asset today that employers seek after. It is obviously a language that is often linked to culture. You know French authors Victor Hugo, Molière, Léopold Sédar Senghor, artists Edith Pia, Alain Delon, Jean-Paul Sartre, and athletes Zidane, so it is really a cultural language.

The French language is spoken on all continents, so it is really conducive to travel. If you like to move around, it is a language that you also find in international institutions, in the European Union, of course, at the United Nations, at UNESCO, at NATO, at the International Olympic Committee, at the International Red Cross, and in international courts of justice.

It is really a language that opens you up to the world, and it is a language that allows you to learn other languages since French, with its Latin Romance base, opens you up to Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian and even English due to their common history with William of Normandy. French and English share a critical vocabulary base.

Kaleidoscope Kids is a podcast created by students at the International Grammar School in Sydney, Australia.