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rance is boosting educational and cultural ties with Indonesia through a French cultural festival celebrating diversity, as the European country wants to attract more Indonesian students to study in France.

Aiming to familiarize Indonesians with French culture, including music, films and art, this year’s festival, “Le Programme de la Francophonie,” is being held throughout this week at the Institut Francais Indonesia (IFI) in Jakarta. Some events, like a folk music concert by Meryem Aboulouafa and French movie screenings, are also set to be held in a number of universities in the capital.

French Ambassador to Indonesia Jean-Charles Berthonnet, who began his duties in Jakarta at the end of last year, said part of his mission was to increase the number of students studying in France.

“One of our priorities is to attract many Indonesian students to France. I think there are about 1,000 right now,” Berthonnet told The Jakarta Post during the opening ceremony of the week-long festival on Monday evening.

There is high interest in French culture, he said, explaining that Indonesians who do not speak French would still be interested in the cultural aspects, such as French films, food, painters and poets.

Such a cultural introduction is hoped to increase interest among students, he added, even though the French language poses a challenge in attracting Indonesian students to pick France as an education destination.

“If you compare with, for instance, Australia or the United Kingdom, there is a gap because they are English-speaking countries, so they have an advantage on us. Still, I think we can reduce this difference and attract more Indonesian students to study in France,” said Berthonnet.

A forum that brings together France language tutors is also slated to be held on Wednesday at the IFI.

This year’s Francophonie has “youth and diversity” as its theme, which Berthonnet deemed to reflect a celebration of the dedication of the International Francophonie Organization (OFI) that supports sustainable development, education and research on the basis of peace, democracy and human rights.

University cooperation attaché Antoine Devoucoux du Buysson made assurances about the open and accepting values of French society that would welcome Indonesian students, as the country has a tradition of receiving many people from abroad.

“France is country where Muslim students can live their spiritual lives as they are doing in Indonesia. We have a big community of French citizens who are also Muslim, so religion is not a concern in France,” du Buysson told the Post.

Education cooperation between the two countries continues to strengthen, he noted, adding that there have already been more than 200 agreements signed between Indonesian and French universities.

Du Buysson said the French education system, especially at the university level, would provide an opportunity for development-based knowledge that could be implemented in advancing Indonesia upon the students’ return.

He added that the French government also provides scholarships for students through cooperation with various parties for development, including various Indonesian ministries and the Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP).

The LPDP of the Indonesian government provides fully funded scholarships for all Indonesians to pursue Master’s and Doctoral degrees abroad and in Indonesia.

A total of 16,295 Master’s and Doctoral candidates have been endowed, with 7,889 of them enrolled in programs abroad and 8,406 in universities in Indonesia.

IFI director Marc Piton said there are about 5,000 students studying the French language through the institute across Indonesia, which also has campuses in Bandung in West Java, Yogyakarta in Central Java and Surabaya in East Java. Approximately 500 students continue their studies in France each year, he said.

Language attaché François Roland-Gosselin said the diversity theme of the Francophonie festival this year was inspired by the objective of living together in respect of differences, giving a nod to Indonesia’s similar motto of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (unity in diversity).