To celebrate 20 years of Moldova’ entry into the International Organization of La Francophonie, the Embassy of France in Moldova and the Francophone University Agency of the  French Alliance in Moldova in March staged three contests intended for the francophone community in Moldova. Students from all over the country could take part in a contest of journalism, a contest of photography and a contest of video clips on francophone themes. The ceremony to award the participants was held on April 7, IPN reports.

In the event, the Ambassador of France in Moldova Pascal Vagogne spoke about the importance of regional francophonie and of bilingual lyceums and appreciated their vitality, even during the Communist rule, saying mainly due to these lyceums the Republic of Moldova is considered the most francophone country in Central and Eastern Europe.

According to the organizers, by these contests they discovered the talents of Francophile students. “There were three contests that we organized for the benefit of the large francophone public in the Republic of Moldova. These were rather symbolic contests – photography, journalism and video clip making. We wanted these to be innovative and to enable the Moldovan students to use their knowledge of French,” said Roxana Turcanu, the Francophone University Agency’s official responsible for Moldova and Ukraine.

Minister of Education Corina Fusu said that discussions were initiated with the French Embassy in Moldova and with the Francophone University Agency and the French Alliance on the signing of a memorandum that would further support the strengthening of the capacities of the bilingual francophone classes in Moldova.

The participants in the three contests were awarded tablet PCs, photo cameras, trips abroad, French language courses, etc. The awards were handed over in the presence of the players of francophonie in Moldova, including the ambassadors of France and Romania in Moldova.