The Francophonie is first and foremost a group of women and men who share a common language, French. It is estimated that there are 300 million speakers in the five continents.
The institutional mechanism around the Francophonie was created in 1970 with the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation. It then changed its name to become the International Organisation of the Francophonie. The objective of this institution is to promote the French language throughout the world. Today, there are 80 members or observer states of the OIF.
The majority of people who speak French in a daily basis are located in the African continent: 44% are in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean. In the future, French will be spoken more in the African continent than anywhere else.
Every year, on the 20th March, the International Day of the Francophonie is celebrated throughout the world. Alliance Française de Banjul dedicates the whole month of March to the Francophonie through various rich and varied events.
Every year, pupils from several schools walk from Traffic Light to Alliance Française in the colours of the French-speaking world. Once they arrive at the Alliance, they meet in the outdoor theatre to share sketches, songs, dances… in French! A great opportunity to highlight this language and to praise the benefits of multilingualism.
Watch the video of the “Marche de la Francophonie” 2022
Alliance’s cultural and technical team travels to schools to screen films for students. The film screenings are followed by an exchange in French. This “outdoor” activity is particularly beneficial to children who do not have the opportunity to attend our regular screenings.
Do you work in a school near Serrekunda and are you interested in this activity? Please contact us!
Alliance, in collaboration with the French Institute of Senegal, the Senegalese director Petit Sambou and the French scenographer Anne Laure Jullian de la Fuente, organised a month of workshops in its premises with 13 Gambian actors, for the final creation of the play Nekuñufi (Absence). At the same time, they welcomed every afternoon at Alliance Française, 12 students from the international bilingual school SBEC to work for a month on the play “Une extraterrestre” by Luc Tartar, extracted from a collection of the Festival 10/10.