Friday 7th December 2012 was yet another exciting day for students of the French Heritage Language Program in New York. Mr Filippe Savadogo, the Ambassador of the OIF (Organisation Internationale de La Francophonie) to the United Nations had invited more than 60 of our 150 high school students to a special meeting in New York so they could share their common French heritage and know more about the role and mission of the OIF.
Le Français comme langue en partage
Starting with the roar of the lion, Mr Savadogo announced straight away the tone of the meeting: “Je veux vous entendre!/I want to hear you!". Originally from Burkina Faso, the Ambassador reached out to all students and did not hesitate to address them in Pular, Mossi, Dyula, French and English, demonstrating that French is a language of sharing, not only because it is spoken in many countries, but because it lives and thrives in and together with other languages. Representing about a dozen Francophone countries, our students came to this meeting as the embodiment of that new, dynamic American French-speaking youth from West Africa and Haiti, and they were ready to make a statement.
Changer le monde en Français
Many of our students had attended the French Heritage summer camp in Quebec last July, and were intent on sharing their experience of the Forum Mondial de la Langue Française, which was organized by the OIF.
“Le forum m’a permis de mieux comprendre que le Français n’appartient pas à un seul peuple, que cette langue nous est commune. Elle est un pont entre les pays, les classes sociales et les communautés, et je suis sûr que l’on peut changer le monde en français/The forum helped me better understand that French does not belong to one people, that it is our common language. It is a bridge between countries, social classes and communities, and I am sure that we can change the world in French", said James Steven Jean-Baptiste of the GED Jamaica Learning center in Queens.
Christel Mbizi, of the International Community High School in the Bronx, stressed that “le camp d’été fut une belle aventure, j’ai pu rencontrer d’autres francophones venus de pays différents, découvrir d’autres cultures et me faire de nouveaux amis, c’est un formidable souvenir/The camp was a great adventure, I was able to meet other French-speakers from different countries, discover other cultures and make new friends, this is such a a wonderful memory".
These heartfelt statements were great ways for the Ambassador to explain the OIF’s mission at the United Nations, which is precisely to change the world in French. Addressing key issues of human rights and democracy, the OIF’s main role at the United Nations is to engage its 77 member-states around helping find solutions together regarding the defense of women’s or children’s rights as well as economic challenges in the world.
“Il faut savoir d’où l’on vient pour savoir où l’on va”
Students were very curious to know about the personal story of the Ambassador. Recounting his youth as a young boy who left his parents’ home to attend middle school when he was 12, and then moving to France to pursue journalism studies in Bordeaux, sounded like a familiar story to all of our students, who recently left their countries and, for many, their entire family, before immigrating to the US in sometimes very difficult conditions. Mr Savadogo insisted on never forgetting where you are from. “You must know where you’re from in order to know where you go” did he say. “Ce sont vos racines, ne les oubliez jamais/These are your roots, never forget them."
Le Français est une chance
Throughout these exchanges, students were invited to express their relation to the French language, what it meant to them and why they had joined a French Heritage class.
Christelle Bissainthe, of the International High School at Prospect Heights, told how speaking French helped her make friends at school and helped her learn English when she arrived in the US. “Mes amis pouvaient traduire les mots que je ne comprenais pas en classe, cela m’a beaucoup aidé/My friends could translate for me words that I did not understand in class, it really helped." Claudjena, from the same school explained that “c’est un moyen de nous retrouver, entre francophones d’Afrique et d’Haïti, et de mieux se connaître/It's a way to be together, between French-speakers from Africa and Haiti, and to know more about each other." “Nous sommes (Haiti) la première république noire libre/We are the first independent black republic," challenged Jean, a teacher from Haiti. “N’oubliez pas que nous restons la terre mère/Don't forget who is the mother continent," quipped the Ambassador.
Mr Savadogo insisted on the luck these students had to speak more than one language. “C’est une chance, celle de devenir bilingue et de vous donner plus de moyens pour réussir dans la vie/This is a chance to become bilingual and have more opportunities to succeed in your life." Anjed, a young student from the Bronx, spoke of French as a “bonus” for students and their studies in the United States.
The Ambassador was visibly touched by this meeting and said how much he was proud of these students and their will to stand up for their Francophonie in the United States, throughout its diversity. When asked about his future projects, Mr Savadogo said with humility that “ce qui importe ce ne sont pas mes projets, mais les vôtres, vous êtes l’avenir de cette langue. Notre volonté est de vous accompagner afin que vous puissiez les réaliser/What matters is not my projects, but yours, you are the future of this language. We want to support you so you can realize them."
With over 2 million speakers in the United States, nearly 250,000 in New York City only, and represented by more than 30 different nationalities, French has never been such a young, dynamic, and increasingly diverse language in America. At the dawn of the 21st century, this is not only about roots, it is a horizon.
Benoît Le Dévédec, Coordinator of the French Heritage Language Program
Discover all the pictures of that meeting on our Facebook page
Since 2005, the French Heritage Language Program has helped over 1,500 students from underserved communities of francophone background enrich their knowledge of the French language and keep strong bonds with their respective cultures and identities. Today, our program serves more than 700 students from elementary to high School levels, and is present in New York, Florida, Maine and Massachusetts.
Learn more about us at http://www.facecouncil.org/fhlp/index.html
Visit our new page on http://frenchlanguage.frencheducation.org/learn/french-heritage, and our interactive program map!
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