A month-long celebration of the Francophonie gets under way!
Published on March 1, 2019
OTTAWA, MARCH 1, 2019 - Today, the Francophone and Acadian flags are flying proudly across the country in celebration of the Rendez-vous de la Francophonie (RVF), which will take place from March 1 to 31, 2019! As part of the 21st edition of the RVF, all Canadians are invited to celebrate Francophone cultures, to listen and learn and to come together, regardless of language or origin. On the www.RVF.ca website, up until the end of the month, you can check out hundreds of events and enter exciting contests.
Yesterday evening, the RVF launched the nation-wide festivities together with spokespersons Caroline Savoie and Patrick Chan. Over 200 guests were in attendance at the Excentricité Pavilion at La Cité College in Ottawa. The evening ended with a comedy show tied in with the stand-up comedy tour organized by the RVF in close to 20 Canadian cities and towns.
This afternoon, we kicked off the 2019 RVF with over 500 students from De La Salle high school (Conseil des écoles publiques de l'Est de l'Ontario), the Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est and a French immersion class from Ashbury College. The youth launch, which concluded with a discussion, was attended by the RVF spokespersons for the 21st edition.
The Canadian Foundation for Cross-Cultural Dialogue, the organization that oversees the RVF, wishes to highlight the 50th anniversary of the Official Languages Act: “2019 is a banner year for Canada. Some groups question the presence of two official languages throughout the country. It is time to demonstrate the openness to one another that is an inherent part of linguistic duality, to emphasize the priceless asset that linguistic duality represents,” stated Guy Matte, Executive Director of the Foundation.
Until March 31, we invite you to attend free screenings of films from the National Film Board and take part in the many events listed on our website (www.RVF.ca). Enter the On the Tip of My Tongue contest, presented by Air Canada and the Language Portal of Canada, today. You could win a trip to Geneva, Switzerland! Other exciting contests are also online until the end of the month.
The Canadian Foundation for Cross-Cultural Dialogue and the 2019 RVF team would like to thank their major partners, including the Department of Canadian Heritage, Air Canada, the Language Portal of Canada (an initiative of the Translation Bureau, Public Services and Procurement Canada), NAV Canada, VIA Rail, the National Film Board, the Fédération de la jeunesse canadienne-française (FJCF), RDÉE Canada, the Association canadienne d'éducation de langue française (ACELF), the Secrétariat du Québec aux relations canadiennes and the Association de la presse francophone.
The RVF is one of the events associated with International Francophonie Day (March 20), which is organized every year to promote the French language and its many cultural expressions. The RVF, which is made possible through Heritage Canada funding, is an initiative of the Canadian Foundation for Cross-Cultural Dialogue.
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SOURCE
Catherine Carle
Communications Officer and Social Media Manager
Canadian Foundation for Cross Cultural Dialogue
Rendez-vous de la Francophonie
Tel.: 613-241-6055
Cell: 613-606-4277
c.carle@fondationdialogue.ca
