Fall in love with French culture at Francophonie Week

The National Capital Region has seen several global events in the past few months, a large number of nations of different hues and cultural values are getting together to mark their oneness through a common language – French.

Alliance Française de Delhi and the Francophone community of Delhi are holding the Francophonie Week through a variety of events from March 15 to 24, including film festivals, theatre, live music acts and, of course, the much-awaited and popular Francophone Méla on the last day. All the events will take place at 72 Lodhi Estate in south Delhi.

French speakers and Francophiles from around the world are uniting to promote the French language and the diversity of Francophone cultures and to come together to become real "Citoyens du Monde" for the Francophonie Festival. Half a Billion Francophone around the world will celebrate Francophonie March.

The exhibition 'Know your Indo-French Heritage' will be held every day during the week for the whole day, while a second exhibition on 'Place Making,' which is a selection of Architectural projects in the Indian Subcontinent (2001–2018) by SPA Design will be held on the evening of March 21.

The lone theatrical presentation, 'La Marche de Rama,' will be showcased on the opening day. There will be a Treasure Hunt competition on March 24 from 10:30 am.

A roundtable will be held on the evening of March 16 on the theme 'Reading May 68 - A period of civil unrest in France'. This will also include an exhibition: A Tribute - Posters of Atelier Populaire, Paris May 68, from March 17 to 31 between 9 am to 6 pm at the Alliance Francaise Gurgaon Centre and a Photography exhibition by Philippe Gras from April 16 to May 4 between 9 am and 6 pm, at Media Library, Alliance Francaise de Delhi.

There will be three quiz contests: Franco-Map on March 19, Francophone Mystery on March 20, and a Music Quiz on March 22. All the quiz programmes will be held at 11:30 am. There will be a talk on the 'Power of Cartoons' by the award-winning Swiss cartoonist Patrick Chappatte along with an Indian cartoonist on the evening of March 19. This is being held by Swiss representatives on the occasion of Switzerland's public diplomacy campaign "70 Years of Swiss-Indian Friendship: Connecting Minds – Inspiring the Future".

The film 'Montreal La Blanche' by director Bachir Bensaddek will be screened on March 20 at 6:30 pm by the Quebec Government Office in Mumbai in collaboration with Alliance Française de Delhi.

Three concerts are also being held: 'Tritha Electric' (a fusion-rock band from Paris and New Delhi) on March 22 and 'Hip Hop by Webster' in collaboration with the Canadian High Commission on March 23 – both at 7 pm, and the concluding concert by 'Bibi Tanga with Thakita' which incorporates Indian folk and tribal style music with Indian artists at 6 pm on the closing day.

The Francophonie Mela will bring representatives of many different countries to stalls, animating stalls set up all over Alliance Française de Delhi, sharing information about their cultures and cuisine and prizes to be won.