Le mot du Délégué général
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Dear Friends,
Upon returning from San Francisco, where the annual directors’ meeting for the American Alliance network was held, Pascal Saura, Deputy Delegate General in charge of pedagogical programs, informed me of his decision to resign from his position on February 28th.
His resignation was motivated by personal reasons and has already been officially presented to the Cultural Counselor and to the Secretary General of the Fondation Alliance Française.
On a personal level, given the ties that link the members of the Délégation générale trio, Isabelle and I are delighted by this development in Pascal’s life and wish him good luck in his new endeavor. We would like to thank him and to pay tribute to the excellent quality of work that he has accomplished working not only for the Alliance Française network in the United States, but also for the benefit of the worldwide network with the FRAMES program. I encourage you to read the note that Pascal Saura wrote for the network.
As mentioned, San Francisco was where representatives of 23 of the 25 largest Alliances Française chapters in the country met for two days of intense work. The minutes are available online, as well as a more detailed report of the cultural, pedagogical and library resource sessions.
As a reminder, the 2010-2011 cultural program has also been available online since mid-February. May 31st is the last day for registrations.
Also discussed during the meeting was a partnership with Radio France Internationale, which you may read more about in the attached document. The partnership, which was formalized in a three-party agreement between RFI, the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States and the Alliance Française USA, should be an opportunity for some Alliance chapters to close a deal with their local National Public Radio station allowing the Alliance Française and its local contact details to be mentioned. As free PR aimed at the heart of the targeted Alliance Française audience, this is a great opportunity!
We would like to ask you to please make sure to get in touch with the Consulate for the area in which your Alliance Française is located before selling the idea to your local NPR station. The Alliance Française and the Embassy of France should, to the greatest extent possible, work together within the framework of this partnership.
Finally, an announcement: a DELF-DALF training will be held at the French Institute-Alliance Française of New York from March 29 to April 2.
Also, two announcements from the Fondation Alliance Française, the first concerning the Concours de la Plume d’Or and the second inviting you to keep your finger on the pulse of the worldwide network with issue number 12 of the Fil d’Alliance electronic newsletter from "Boulevard Raspail".
Yours sincerely,
Thierry Lagnau
Délégué général