Ambassador I. Vaišvilaitė stresses the need to comprehensively promote the French language
During the meeting of the members of the International Organization of La Francophonie (IOF), held in Monaco from 30 to 31 October, the representative of the President of Lithuania to the IOF Ambassador Irena Vaišvilaitė stressed the need to comprehensively promote the French language.
Addressing the participants of the Ministerial Conference, the Ambassador noted that Lithuania, which celebrates its 20 years as the IOF’s observer state, is committed to disseminate as widely as possible the ideas of Francophonie.
“The prevalence of the French language in our society, especially among the youth, is lower than we would like it to be”, the Lithuanian representative said. She emphasized the importance of strengthening a widely available, good quality teaching of the French language and the need to reinforce the international position of this language in the field of science and technology.
Ambassador I. Vaišvilaitė underlined that the IOF initiatives of this year’s Ministerial Conference concerning the rights of the child, the sustainable management of the oceans and the role of innovation in the promotion of science, education and digital economy are of great importance. According to the representative of Lithuania, in developing these initiatives it is important to involve the private sector. The Ambassador also stressed that Lithuania supports the efforts of the IOF in the fields of education of girls and vocational training of women.
Currently, the IOF has 54 full members, 27 observer states and 7 associate members. In 2020, the Organization will celebrate its 50th anniversary.
