Learn and share : foundation of French Cultural Cooperation

Implemented by a strong network all over the world, France’s cultural cooperation policy is based on two pillars: promoting the French language and fostering exchanges between countries in various artistic and scientific fields, such as performing arts, visual arts, literature, cinema, research and science. The main purpose of the French cultural cooperation is to bring together international and local artists and scientists in order to promote their work, to create discussions and debates and to encourage intellectual exchanges.

In Sri Lanka, as elsewhere in the world, the Alliance Française network has been a key operator in the organization of French educational and cultural programs. The Alliances Françaises of Kotte, Kandy, Matara/ Galle and Jaffna are Sri Lankan organizations operating under local law. In coordination with the Embassy of France and various partners both in Sri Lanka and France, they conduct cultural activities, involving young creators and artists.

The General Delegation of the Alliance Française in Sri Lanka and the Maldives represents the Paris based Fondation Alliance Française, and ensures the respect of the Chart of Quality shared by the network of Alliances Française worldwide.

Alliance Française receives an increasing number of Sri Lankan students learning French. Thanks to the support of the Embassy of France and of a growing number of local and European partners and sponsors, Alliance Française de Kotte has been supporting artists, organizing Francophone and French Film Festivals, concerts ( Stigmata, Music Day), exhibitions (Seneka Abeyratne, Manoj), fashion shows ( Deneth) and book launches (Kumar de Silva, Philippe Fabry).

The Alliance Française de Kandy is very active to promote the local artists and caters to the creative activities of its students.

In 2012 and 2013, the Alliance Française de Kotte worked very closely with the Embassy of France in the organization of the French Spring Festival in Sri Lanka, which received the support of the Sri Lankan Ministry of Culture and the Arts, the BMICH, the Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel as well as the sponsorship of numerous French and Sri Lankan institutions and companies operating in the two countries.

The French Spring Festival in Sri Lanka presented a dozen events in Colombo, Kandy, Matara, Galle and Jaffna in 2013. French artists took part in the Festival which covered fields of music, dance, visual arts, photography, cinema, science and gastronomy.

Favoring exchanges between people from different countries, communities and cultures, the French Spring Festival is definitely an Embassy of France and Alliance Française “trait” that reinforces the amicable cooperation between the two countries. events involving French companies: last January, its Economic Counsellor supported a working breakfast in Paris organized by the Sri Lankan Embassy to introduce a 10 members business delegation from Sri Lanka to French businessmen and institutional bodies (ministries, chambers). On July 4th, a symposium on Urban Development, co-organized by the Embassy and the Sri Lanka France Business Council involved 10 participating French companies and two public financing French agencies (AFD, the French development bank, and Proparco, its private sector arm). A second seminar will be organized mid-September of which the topic will be the Public Private Partnership. Finally, the Embassy is working jointly with Medef International (Medef is an organization gathering large and small enterprises in France) to build a top executive business delegation to visit Colombo on the occasion of the Commonwealth Business Forum, to be held next November.

Using the RPE ( Emerging Countries Reserve) and FASEP ( Private Sector Research and Assistance Fund) instruments, in many emerging countries, France is involved in funding development projects for which the implementation requires the expertise and know-how of French companies. Both instruments are accounted for as part of France’s official development assistance for which Sri Lanka is eligible.

The most recent use of RPE in Sri Lanka was to provide the government with a concessional loan of 22,05 million Euros for the supply of 46 metallic bridges dedicated to the reconstruction of bridges on the National Highway network by the Road Development Authority. The commercial contract has been signed on 12th December 2012 and is presently under operation.

In case of commercial private bank financing for projects, the French Export Credit Assurance company COFACE, is covering Sri Lanka public sovereign risk on behalf of the French government. It will be the case in the next future for projects dedicated to water distribution and fishery harbours.