The French language will be once again honoured in Vietnam through a wide range of cultural activities on the occasion of International Francophone Day.

"It's an opportunity for us to honour the values of solidarity and respect for culture differences," said Anissa Barrak, Asia-Pacific director of the International Francophone Organisation (OIF).

A Francophone Film Festival will kick off on March 16 in Hanoi and HCM City as part of a national celebration of this month-long event. The festival will present 12 films from nine countries: Vietnam , France , Canada , Marocco , Switzerland , Belgium , Greece , Chad , and Ivory Coast .

An educational festival will also be organised at Hanoi University on March 18, where students will attend presentations on the cultures of various Francophone countries.


All the screenings will have Vietnamese subtitles.

A contest about the Francophone films being presented at the festival is available at www.jeu-cine.francophonie.org.vn until April 10.

An official ceremony will take place on March 20 to celebrate the 42nd International Francophone Day at the Hanoi Opera House.

The ceremony will be followed by performances of well-known singers from different Francophone countries including Maryse Ngalula ( Congo ), Cloe du Trefle ( Belgium ), Do Thi Thanh Hoa ( Vietnam ) and dancers from the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet Theatre.

A photo exhibition of the Swiss group Plonk and Replonk will be held at L'Espace until March 27. The French cultural centre will also host Cameroonian singer Kareyce Fotso and singer Ali Keita from the Ivory Coast on March 22.

A wide range of other cultural activities will also be organised in Hue , Da Lat, Vinh, HCM City and Tien Giang, the location of the 15th Francophone Festival of the Mekong Delta.

Vietnam was one of the founder countries of the Francophonie in 1970.

Over the last year, the OIF has maintained an active co-operation with Vietnam featuring the exchange of training and technical expertise in a number of fields.

French is spoken by 220 million people across the world.-VNA