DAV holds ceremony to welcome OIF Secretary-General, launches Francophone Space, and receives Francophone Honorary Award of GADIF

A video capturing special moments of the ceremony: The business visit of the OIF Secretary-General at the DAV and the GADIF 2022 award.

During the official visit to Vietnam (from March 21st to 26th, 2022), OIF Secretary-General Louise Mushikiwabo visited the DAV and had a meeting with Dr. Pham Lan Dung, Acting Director of the DAV. This is the second time the DAV has had the honor to welcome an OIF Secretary-General. The first time was when President Abdou Diouf visited Vietnam in March 2014. After the meeting, President Louise Mushikiwabo and Acting Director Pham Lan Dung inaugurated the Francophone Space (Salle du VIIème Sommet de la Francophonie de Hanoi) with equipment and decoration support from the OIF. The Francophone Space, together with the Francophone library (funded by the French Embassy), the French Department, the Center for Francophone Research and Cooperation in Asia-Pacific (CREFAP), and the International Francophone Forum are located in the DAV’s French space. This is an initiative implemented by the DAV since November 2021, with the support of the CREFAP’s Representative Office and embassies of some French-speaking countries in Hanoi. The Francophone Space will become a meet-and-greet place for French-speaking and French-loving people in Vietnam.

With European-themed design, the DAV's Francophone Space is fully equipped with facilities for conferences and seminars in the spirit of openness, respect, and cooperation. At the same time, it is also decorated with many valuable French books in the fields of international relations, international law, international organizations, etc., contributing to providing necessary knowledge and skills for comprehensive research on Francophone solidarity, as well as contributing to Vietnam's integration with the Francophone community in particular and the international community in general.

 

OIF Secretary-General Louise Mushikiwabo takes a tour of the Francophone Space

On the evening of the same day, within the framework of the official celebration of the International Francophonie Day on March 20th and the 25th anniversary of the 7th Francophonie Summit in Hanoi 1997, chaired by Vietnam Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, along with the presence of OIF Secretary-General Louise Mushikiwabo, the DAV was honored to receive the Francophonie Honorary Award from the Group of Ambassadors, Heads of Delegations and Francophone Organizations in Vietnam (GADIF). Collectively awarded for the first time, this award is a testament to the recognition of the Francophonie Community towards the DAV for its contributions to French language teaching, promotion, and dissemination of Francophone values in Vietnam and the general region.

The welcoming ceremony for the OIF Secretary-General, the inauguration of the Francophone space, and the Francophone Honorary Award of GADIF have set another memorable milestone in the journey of building, training, and fostering human resources of the DAV. This is also a valuable encouragement for the unrelenting journey of generations of staff, lecturers, researchers, and students of the Francophonie group from the DAV from its first days of establishment until present.