The Francophonie Spring Festival commences in Kazakhstan
The Francophonie Spring 2024 Festival commenced in Kazakhstan on March 1, aiming to celebrate French language and Francophone cultures. The Embassies of Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Romania, France, and Switzerland provided insights into the festival during a briefing held by the Central Communications Service on March 1.
The festival is scheduled to continue until April 21. Developed through collaboration between French Alliances, Francophone associations, and Kazakhstan’s cultural institutions, the program will encompass various activities such as cinema screenings, modern and traditional music performances, conferences, photo exhibitions, virtual reality experiences, and French language contests.
The International Organization of Francophonie, established in 1970, comprises 54 permanent member states and 27 observer states united by the French language. Their initiatives focus on fostering political, educational, economic, and cultural cooperation grounded in principles of humanism, democracy, and the promotion of cultural diversity, as outlined in the press release from the French embassy.
“As every year, we have tried to create a diverse program,” said French Ambassador to Kazakhstan Didier Canesse.(Source:astanatimes)
This year's Francophone Spring will be held in various cities across Kazakhstan, including Almaty, Astana, Atyrau, Karaganda, Pavlodar, Ust-Kamennogorsk, and Shymkent.
As part of the events organized by the French Embassy, Parisian singer Gaby Artmann, accompanied by a quartet, will perform at the Astana Opera on April 26 and at the State Philharmonic in Almaty on April 20.
The Francophone Song Contest, also organized by the French embassy, will feature a special guest, Julien Dassin, son of Joe Dassin, as a jury member for the final competition on April 6 in Astana. Participants will compete for the main prize: two tickets to Paris, provided by Air Astana, the event’s partner.
Additionally, the Romanian embassy will screen "Maria Inima Romaniei," a film depicting Queen Maria’s political role and personal life during World War I, and "România Salbatica," the most prominent documentary project dedicated to Romania’s nature. The Romanian Ambassador to Kazakhstan, Mădălina Lupu, mentioned that the embassy will organize contests and award prizes as part of the festival program.
“The movie screenings will be free for the visitors in some cinemas and after the screening, there will be discussion sessions with movie critics to ensure broad participation and maximum interaction of different segments of society,” said Ambassador of Canada to Kazakhstan Alan Hamson.
