The “Francophonie Week” is the festival of the French language and cultures of the French-speaking countries, which is celebrated in the middle of March across the world. The organizers have prepared a program for the broad public to show the linguistic and cultural diversity of the French-speaking countries.

At the opening of the Francophonie week on March 13 the French movie “Margarita” will be screened at 17:30 pm at the “Rossiya” cinema. The Ambassadors of France, Switzerland and Belgium will solemnly open the Francophonie Week 2017.

The Swiss film “Bouboule” will be shown at the "Rossiya" cinema on March 15 at 18:00. The Belgian animation film “Skin color: honey” - in the big hall of the Academy of Tourism (address: 99 Chui Avenue/Alma-Atinskaya street), beginning at 17:30. All films are in French with Russian subtitles.

The Bishkek Francophonie program contains traditional events such as a culinary atelier, a competition of modern French songs, a theatre contest, an evening of French wines, the French game "Petanque" and many other events.

In addition, on March 17, at 18:00, the Swiss musician Jacky Lagger will hold a concert in French at the American University of Central Asia (AUCA).

All detailed information about events is presented in the program below.

PROGRAM

Ulahol Ayil Aimak won a competition for the best Service Improvement Action Plan conducted in the framework of the Public Service Improvement (PSI) project funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and implemented by a consortium of organizations composed of Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation and the Development Policy Institute. The Service Improvement Action Plan is a systematic method that allows to identify priority public and municipal services as well as to plan and improve their organization and execution.

The cultural center will provide recreation services, such as dancing classes, language courses and other educational activities. It will have a playground for children and a WI-FI zone. 

“From this day on, residents of the villages of Ottuk and Kara-Shaar will receive affordable services of good quality in the field of cultural leisure. All necessary conditions are created in the center to allow for people with disabilities take an active part in the cultural life of the village; before, there was nothing for them in the village at all,” - said Mamatkerimov Akylbek, Head of Ulahol AO. “ ”Previously, young girls and boys did not know what to do in the evenings, some would enjoy playing football, but the rest sat at home; from now on, they have a place where they can meet together, communicate and develop.”

In Ulahol Aiyl Aymak, the project also provides advisory and consultative support regarding the creation of a long-term plan for the provision of additional services in the field of leisure and culture taking into account the local priorities.

“It is crucial to keep in mind that improving service provision is an ongoing process. It is not only about procurement of new equipment or renovation of buildings. It is mostly about good management by local self-governments, ensuring that services are of good quality, can be accessed by all residents and are maintained in a sustainable way” – said René Holenstein, Ambassador of Switzerland to the Kyrgyz Republic.

In total, the PSI project supports the implementation of 35 Service Improvement Action Plans worth over 91 million soms with municipal contributions amounting to almost 28 million soms, corresponding to 30% of the total amount. Among the services to be improved there are nine initiatives to ensure sustainable access to safe drinking water, twelve initiatives to improve the quality and accessibility of preschool and school education, six plans to improve communal and housing services in municipalities etc.