Traditionally, the first days of spring mark the celebration of the international Francophonie festival, a commonwealth of French-speaking countries. The association was founded on 20 March 1970 in Niamey, Republic of the Niger. The day of its foundation was called the Francophonie Day. It is dedicated to 220 million French speakers. For 75 million of them, French is their mother tongue. Today, the International Organisation of la Francophonie consists of 88 member states.
“Francophonie” literally means “sounding in French”. The festival is also celebrated by the countries that study and teach French. The Francophonie Days are held in many educational institutions and international organisations around the world. This allows a great number of people to get acquainted with the culture of France and other French-speaking countries, to learn their history and traditions, which contributes to the development of intercultural communication and brings together the fans of the language from all over the world.
Russia also takes part in the celebration of the French culture. Every year, the embassies and consulates of the member countries of the International Organisation of la Francophonie and the French Institute hold the Days of la Francophonie in our country. Organisations related to the French culture and language organise events to which native French speakers and people living in French-speaking countries are invited.
Voronezh State University in cooperation with Nikitin Regional Scientific Library annually holds an interregional student festival and contest dedicated to the International Francophonie Day, which unites lovers of the French language and culture. This year, among the participants of the event were about 70 students from the leading universities of the region (Voronezh State University, Voronezh State University of Engineering Technologies, Burdenko Voronezh State Medical University, Voronezh State Technical University, Voronezh State Pedagogical University, and Voronezh Institute of High Technologies), as well as representatives of Semionov-Tien-Shan Lipetsk State Pedagogical University and Belgorod State Institute of Arts and Culture.
The participants performed in nominations including theatrical performances, singing songs in French and reciting poems of French poets. The contestants had prepared performances in various genres: theatrical performances, solo and chorus singing, reciting literary works, and playing musical instruments. The diversity and richness of the French culture was demonstrated on-stage: the participants performed melodies that had become classics of the French estrada (for example, “Les Champs Elysées”), as well as songs by contemporary singers and pieces from the musical “Notre Dame de Paris”. French fairy tales and films transformed into theatrical performances demonstrated a lot of creativity.
The performances were evaluated by the jury which was comprised of lecturers from Voronezh universities. Students recited poems by famous French poets Paul Verlaine, Victor Hugo, Stéphane Mallarmé, and Jean de La Fontaine.
Students from VSU who study the French language at the Department of French Philology of the Faculty of Romance and Germanic Philology had prepared interesting performances and showed a lot of artistry and a proficiency in the French language. As a result, they became winners and prize-winners in different nominations of the contest.
“It was a very interesting experience because being a spectator and a participant are very different experiences. I am glad that I had such an opportunity to show my worth and my knowledge of French, which is a big part of my life,” said Daria Timashova, a first year student from the Faculty of Romance and Germanic Philology of VSU.
“I enjoyed the festive French atmosphere: girls in incredible costumes, French music, and speech… Take part in Francophonie Day! It is very interesting, beautiful, and melodic, similar to the French language itself,” said Anastasia Kharchenko, a student from the Faculty of General Medicine of Voronezh State Medical University.
