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Ever
since its inception, the cultural policy of the Alliance française
is based on two principles: the fight for the French language and extending
the required help to all those who learn French world wide in order to
further this action. Its mission, as laid down in its statutes, is "
to maintain and develop the usage of the French language and the interest
for Francophone cultures ". Alliances françaises are therefore
language schools as well as cultural centers.
One of the greatest challenges today is to adapt, and to make the French
language compatible with modernity. In fact, in this day and age wherein
French has started looking rather obsolete faced as it is with an English
language which seems to incarnate the present times, the challenge that
confronts the Alliance française is to make French fashionable
again. In this perspective, the objective is much less to " learn
to speak French but rather to learn to think French ". This is so
because the objective is very much to continue to spread present day French
ideas. For doing this, one of the first and foremost objectives is to
make it modern. Thus, for the time being, conferences in English, and
dealing with scientific issues have replaced the indispensable authors
of the classical era, in order to transmit a different picture of France
and thereby modify the erroneous perception that one has of France all
over the world. In this endeavor, emphasis has been laid on higher studies
in France. The aim is to lead young people to pursue their higher education
in France. This action is being conducted jointly with the EduFrance agency
which has set up desks in a few alliances, particularly in India at Madras,
Bombay, Poona, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Trivandrum, Hyderabad and Chandigarh.
For doing this, continuing with the work for harmonization of the diplomas
conferred by the alliances with those secured in Europe is indispensable.
This work has to be necessarily accompanied by an overhaul of the erstwhile
equipment and methods of functioning, by incorporating new technologies
almost entirely in their organization. And in the same perspective which
stems from the principle that for being attractive, today, a language
must prove that it has a certain amount of utility, the Alliance française
is on the look-out for companies in order to develop. This would pave
the way for the forging of partnerships, with the Alliance française
helping out in the development of new products and furnishing services
in the matter of linguistic training, and the companies encouraging the
activities of the alliances, in its various programs and events. It is
all about showing an " innovative mind-set ". This has to also
materialize through an increasing level of professionnalization of the
personnel of the alliances. However, in order to take the students as
far as possible in the curriculum of certifications and diplomas, and
thereby carry out a high quality quantitative teaching, a goal has been
set, that of facilitating access to classes, which should be better suited
to the needs of the public. The means that have been put in motion for
achieving this goal have been the delocalization of a few language classes
as carried out in Hyderabad or the creation of branches as in Delhi and
Goa. The curriculum also needs to be redefined, by making the specializations
and certifications issued more coherent as also by offering a larger range
of courses.
Within this perspective of cultural development, and the utilization of
media and technologies, the alliances network also commits itself to act
as the relay channel of Francophone media such as Radio France International
(RFI) or TV5, with a view to ensure a Francophone presence in the audiovisual
scenario the world over.
The policies of the Alliance française centre around relationships
of proximity. One of its strengths lies in the fact that it is able to
easily integrate itself into the functioning of local institutions and
organizations and thereby be close to the population, and therefore to
the students, and local authorities. Thus, the Alliances françaises
in India are all locally formed associations. This option was retained
in order to correspond better to its objectives of dialogue and exchange
between cultures.
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