French Ambassador Pierre-Antoine Berniard (centre) speaks with Dominique Jorand (left), director of the Alliance Francaise in Jamaica, and Mr. Pierre Lemaire, president of the Alliance, at the start of a press conference in Kingston on Tuesday to launch activities marking the 50th anniversary of the Alliance. - Ian AllenBy Donna Ortega,
News Editor
'A TOUCH of France', the cultural and trade exhibition hosted by the Alliance Francaise in Jamaica will be staged for the second time in Kingston from October 9 -11 this year.
According to Mr. Pierre Lemaire, president of the Alliance Francaise in Jamaica, "The business side is expected to be bigger this year."
He was speaking at a press conference held on Tuesday at the Alliance, Lilford Avenue in Kingston, to launch activities marking the 50th anniversary of the Alliance Francaise in Jamaica. The activities are being organised with the support of the new French Ambassador and honorary president of the association, Pierre-Antoine Berniard and the new Cultural Attache to the French Embassy, Mr. Jerome Dubois-Mercent.
Mr. Lemaire said last year's Touch of France event was a success. "It worked beautifully," he said.
As a result the cultural and trade exhibition will be expanded this year with the assistance of the French Embassy and the French Trade Commission. The exhibition, which will be held at the Hilton Kingston, will be expanded to accommodate more visitors and exhibitors. Jamaican companies representing French products as well as representatives of the Chambers of Commerce of Guadeloupe and Martinique, who will be participating for the first time, will showcase their products.
Products such as French wines and spirits, perfumes, food, electrical products and motor vehicles will actually be offered for sale during the event.
Jamaican companies will also be able to make links with French companies through a database set up at the exhibition.
The cultural and trade exhibition staged for the first time last year and which saw 1200 children attending on Children's Day will have a concert and fashion show as well as a music group from Guadeloupe among the highlights of what is expected to be "a much bigger Touch of France," Mr. Lemaire said. Past directors and past presidents of the Alliance are being invited so that the 50th anniversary celebration will be made "with the people who have built the Alliance," he said.
The Alliance which recently moved into new premises on Lilford Avenue in Kingston, has opened a Multimedia Resource Centre for Contemporary France financed by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to respond to the growing need in Jamaica for information about France. Dominique Jorand, director of the Alliance, described the centre as "another step towards closer-co-operation and understanding between Jamaica and France."
Internet access
It is open to students, journalists, researchers and the general public and houses books, videos, Cd-ROMs, CD music and will allow users Internet access.
In its new location, the Alliance has technologically-advanced equipment helping to create a modern, comfortable learning environment (large classrooms, audio-visual material, access to TV5 the French television station) for students from pre-school to college level and beyond. There are also classes for students doing CXC and A Level. Courses for the adult students take them from beginners through to conversational level with a strong emphasis on oral skills. Private courses are arranged for students with specific needs such as diplomatic or commercial staff.
Mr. Jorand said that the Alliance not only officially promotes the French language but French culture from Africa, Canada and Europe.
The Alliance Francaise of Jamaica was created in 1951 and for its first 25 years functioned through the efforts of a small number of volunteer francophiles. In 1976, the first director sent directly from France arrived and the Alliance acquired premises in Barbican during that year where, during the 1980s the Alliance experienced a period of strong growth.
