Alliance Francaise to set up office in Doon
By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 4 Jul: Alliance Francaise, a premier institution supported by the French Government will soon set up an office in Dehradun. Through this organisation, the Alliance Francaise aims to promote education of French language and culture in Uttarakhand as well. A delegation of the Alliance Francaise along with some prominent local citizens today called on Secretary to Chief Minister R Meenakshi Sundaram at the Secretariat to apprise him of the plan and to seek cooperation of the Uttarakhand Government in establishing the centre.
The delegation was led by Emmanuel Lebrun-Damiens, who is Counsellor for Education, Science, and Culture at the French Embassy. The delegation apprised Secretary Sundaram that with the support of Alliance Francaise and other local organisations, the government wished to have a presence in Dehradun in order to promote cultural ties and French education. During the meeting, Damiens stressed that the Government of India has a very special relationship with France and the French Government wishes to further strengthen this relationship. The French Government will support setting up of Alliance Francaise in Dehradun to nurture education of French language and to promote cultural exchanges between Uttarakhand and France with the help of this centre.He further insisted that this Centre will also pave the way for further industrial growth and investment in Uttarakhand from France.
Damiens and other members informed that in the beginning, the Centre will start French classes for those who wanted to learn French and also have ties in schools. But later, French writers, musicians, artists and singers and troupes will also be invited to perform in Dehradun. The Centre will also help students from state to secure scholarships who will want to study in France.The delegation also expressed hope that possible French investment in Uttarakhand had the potential to increase employment in the state besides industrialisation in some select sectors. Sundaram said that Union Ministry of Education is now encouraging setting up of campuses of foreign universities in the country and urged the delegation to look for the possibility of setting up any campuses of good French universities in Uttarakhand. Sundaram assured that the government would provide all possible help in setting up of such universities.
Sundaram also sought the help of the French delegation towards skill development of the local youth as per the requirements of the industry.
There was also discussion on recognition of Indian professional degrees such as in physiotherapy, nursing, Yoga instructors, etc., in France. The delegation said that the French Government will positively study how these degrees are acquired and how they compare with the equivalent French degrees and then it will certainly consider granting them recognition. There were also discussions on increased partnerships between French and Indian artists from Uttarakhand in the field of art, literature and culture also about greater cooperation between the state and France in respect of identified industrial sectors.
Those who were part of the delegation that called on the Secretary to CM R Meenakshi Sundaram apart from Damiens were Coordinator of the Alliance Française’ Network, Alice Gauny; Member of the Alliance Française Dehradun Support Group, Rahul Jain; Member of the Alliance Française Dehradun Support Group and senior journalist Satish Sharma and Branch Manager Allaince Francaise Aurélien Dumont.
It may be pertinent to remind here that so far Alliance Francaise has offices in major cities of India and around the world and Dehradun is now being added to the list now. India has 24 Alliances Françaises located in cities like New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Puducherry, Pune, Mysore, Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Coimbatore, Goa, Gurgaon, Indore, Jaipur, Karikal, Kolkata, Madurai, Tiruchirappalli, Trivandrum and Vadodara.
