Parlez-vous Francais?

Guests who could speak French parlez-vous-ed with each other to do honor to the occasion. This was the International Day of the Francophonie during which 170 million French-speaking people all over the world celebrate their common language.

The special celebration, hosted by French Ambassador Renée Veyret (naturally) and French-speaking Canadian Ambassador Robert Collette, was held at the former’s official residence.

"It is an opportunity for us to inform the world of the Francophonie’s activities in the international arena and its active role in advocating cultural diversity," Ambassadors Veyret and Collette pointed out. Two other speakers were DSWD Secretary Corazon Soliman and DFA Undersecretary Della Domingo-Albert.

As described by the hosts, Francophonie’s International Organization is a forum where cultural diversity thrives, uniting peoples of different cultures, traditions and religions, while promoting the French language and respecting and encouraging the cultural diversity of its members.

Francophonie was marked in Manila by the Alliance Francaise and the Francophonie members representing about 25 countries. This being the case, one can imagine the throng that gathered for the unique, annual festival, which throng kept French Cultural Counsellor Franck Hebert and Press Attaché Benedicte Meysson busy assisting the hosts. Before I left, I promised Mr. Hebert and Ms. Meysson that I would brush up on my French for next year’s festival. The only French I can now say is: "Ce qui n’est pas clair n’est pas Francais." (What is not clear is not French.)