TORONTO, March 16, 2009 -- Glendon College will host the 12th annual Semaine de la Francophonie March 19 to 23, 2009 as part of a worldwide celebration of French language and culture. The four-day campus event will feature lectures, workshops, performances and experiences in literature, music, history and visual arts — with a distinctly French signature.
“Canada was one of the first countries to promote the Francophonie by helping establish and develop its institutions,” says Glendon Principal Kenneth McRoberts. “Glendon is proud to continue that tradition as Canada’s only bilingual liberal arts college and home to Toronto’s largest celebration of the Journée internationale de la Francophonie.”
Canada is a founding member of the International Organization of la Francophonie (OIF) that brings together 70 states and governments. Each year, OIF members, including Canada, organize cultural activities to celebrate the Journée international de la Francophonie, a day dedicated to the French language. Glendon’s Journée international de la Francophonie was founded in 1998 and has since expanded to a week-long celebration.
The 2009 Semaine de la Francophonie will honour the contributions and talents of the Francophonie in Ontario. The celebration, a feature of York University’s 50th anniversary celebrations, will include:
· a chat with playwright Carole Fréchette
· performances by Glendon drama students
· a lecture on the “Evolution of the Spoken French of Franco-Ontarian Adolescents’ by Raymond Mougeon, Director of Glendon’s Centre for Research on Language Contact
· an exhibition by artist Josette Villeneuve at the Glendon Gallery
· a meet-and-greet with the authors of Glendon’s French language publishing house
· an opera encounter featuring Glendon Professor Alain Baudot and members of the Glenn Gould School of Music
· a talk by Dan Brignoli, a member of the Société d’histoire de Toronto: “A Tour of French Toronto in Works and Pictures”.
Details of the events are available at http://www.yorku.ca/yorku50/events.
Founded in 1966, Glendon College — York’s original campus — is the only liberal arts faculty in Canada where all students study in both official languages. Toward a founding mission of preparing public leaders for a progressively global world, Glendon offers an outstanding undergraduate education with bilingual programs in all major areas of the humanities and social sciences. Among Glendon’s 10,000 graduates are leading public officials, journalists, scholars, writers and business people.
The third largest university in the country, York University is host to a dynamic academic community of 50,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 200,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 11 faculties and 24 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges.
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Media Contact:
Marie-Thérèse Chaput
Director, Office of Advancement, Alumni & External Relations
Glendon College, York University
Tel.: 416-487-6801 Cell: 416-624-4357
mtchaput@glendon.yorku.ca
