Climate issue brings French speakers closer

Novia D. Rulistia ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sun, 04/19/2009 1:58 PM  |  Discover

Raindrops on a leaf, a long, shady path and polluted lakes were the objects of several pictures being shown during the opening of this year's celebration of Francophonie Week on March 23.

Francophonie is an organization which consists of French-speaking communities around the world.

The French Literature Department of the Faculty of Cultural Science at the University of Indonesia (UI) in collaboration with the embassies of Canada, France, Switzerland, Egypt, Romania, the Centre Culturel Francais (CCF) and the Jakarta State University (UNJ), celebrated the week with the theme of "Love your environment for the future's sake".

The Francophonie Week celebration was held from March 23 to 27. At the University of Indonesia, the celebration first started in 2006, aiming to unite French-speaking communities in Indonesia and to develop studies of French.

The commemoration included a photograph exhibition from students from the UI and the UNJ, as well as from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The total of 40 students from the two universities participated in the exhibition.

"Climate change and global warming are still hot topics everywhere, including among Francophonie members. By asking students to take pictures of their surroundings, hopefully they can see more clearly what happens out there," the event's coordinator, Edlina Eddin, said.

Therefore, she added, students would start to care more about their environment, beginning with their own neighborhoods, in a bid to improve the quality of the environment and gradually stop environmental destruction.

Prior to the photograph exhibition, students had a chance to learn more about photography as they attended a one-day photography workshop with Belgian photographer, Thiebault Gregoire.

A participant from the UI, Mellyna, said that as she was so interested in photography, she hoped she could enhance her skills through the workshop.

"As well as that, if I hadn't joined the exhibition, I wouldn't really notice the state of my surroundings; maybe it's time for me to care more," the 20-year-old said, adding that she also got the chance to practice more of her French during the workshop.

In addition to the photograph exhibition, the opening of the celebration featured performances from students on the UI's French literature course. There were also screenings of French films in the UI, the UNJ and the CCF during the week.

Francophonie stands under the umbrella of the International Organization of Francophonie (OIF) which was set up on March 20, 1970. OIF now has 56 member countries and 14 observing countries in five continents. Nowadays, about 200 million people speak French around the world.

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