Days of Francophonie in Banja Luka

On the premises of the National and University Library of the Republic of Srpska, from 10 March to 31 March 2016, a number of events celebrating the Days of Francophonie are organized in cooperation with the professors, associates and students of the University of Banja Luka.

The Embassy of France in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Embassy of Switzerland in Bosnia and Herzegovina, French Institute in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the National and University Library of the Republic of Srpska and the University of Banja Luka have organized the Days of Francophonie.

Apart from the following activities: the literary evening prepared by the Department of the French Language and Literature of the Faculty of Philology at the University of Banja Luka, projections of movies in French, workshops for elementary and high school students, literary evenings hosting Lebanese writer Charif Majdalani, on 23 March 2016 the winners of the competition in French dictation were announced and there also was a press conference attended by Claire Bodonyi, the ambassador of France to Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

Prior to the press conference, there were meetings which Mr. Petko Stoynov, the representative of the Francophonie University Association (Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie-AUF) for Central and Eastern Europe, had with the students and professors of French Language and Literature of the Faculty of Philology at the University of Banja Luka.

During the press conference, the Ambassador of France to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mrs. Claire Bodonyi, spoke about the importance of celebrating the Days of Francophonie and the value of the French language in general, she also talked about the efforts of the Embassy of France to support and strengthen the francophone community in Bosnia Herzegovina, especially in Banja Luka and the Republic of Srpska. Moreover, Mrs. Bodonyi supported the University of Banja Luka. The Vice-Rector for International Cooperation of the University of Banja Luka, Prof. Valerija Šaula, PhD, addressed the significance of the results that have been achieved so far regarding the cooperation of the University of Banja Luka with the Embassy of France in Bosnia and Herzegovina and other institutions for higher education in the country. She particularly stressed the important role of the Embassy of France in forming the personnel of the Study Program for the French Language and Literature of the Faculty of Philology at the University of Banja Luka by offering sabbaticals and thus enabling the personnel of this study program to get education at prestigious French universities. Additionally she pointed out the significance of the fact that the University of Banja Luka got the full membership at the Francophonie University Association on 15 January 2016.

Mr. Stoynov, the representative of the Francophonie University Association, presented the organization and its possibilities to support the francophone community of the University of Banja Luka, that being a benefit of the aforementioned membership, and expressed his expectation that the employees and students of the University of Banja Luka will actively participate in the activities supported by the Association.