{"id":7445,"date":"2024-05-15T14:21:49","date_gmt":"2024-05-15T10:21:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/?p=7445"},"modified":"2024-05-15T16:06:23","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T12:06:23","slug":"the-west-and-uieh-celebrate-la-francophonie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/en\/the-west-and-uieh-celebrate-la-francophonie\/","title":{"rendered":"The West and UIEH celebrate \u2018La Francophonie\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

March 2024 found The West buzzing with the rhythms of \u2018La Francophonie\u2019 at two events organised at Medine’s flagship education centre, Uniciti International Education Hub (UIEH). Let\u2019s take a look at some of the highlights.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parlez-vous fran\u00e7ais?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Going far beyond a simple celebration of language, the Semaine de la Francophonie<\/em> (Week of French Language) has been an annual event since 1970, bringing together the many countries that have French as their common language \u2013 a language which now ranks as the fifth most spoken language on Earth, with more than 320 million speakers worldwide!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The week highlights the importance of the French language in international communication and of reinforcing ties between French-speaking populations. In fact, the aim of the Semaine de la Francophonie is simple: to promote cultural diversity, mutual learning, and cooperation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In support of this goal, UIEH organised a debate and discussion panel at its Pierrefonds campus on the 20th<\/sup> of March, and an international symposium chaired by a writer who needs no introduction \u2013 Jean-Marie Le Cl\u00e9zio \u2013 on the 21st<\/sup> and 22nd<\/sup> of March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Debate and discussion: reflecting on Artificial Intelligence (AI)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

“Today, with artificial intelligence, why bother thinking?\u201d: this provocative title introduced a debate and discussion on one of today\u2019s most topical subjects \u2013 the role played by artificial intelligence in our society \u2013 held on the 20th<\/sup> of March 2024. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hosted with \u00e9lan by French journalist Sandrine Audrain, the event welcomed two renowned local speakers: Joseph Cardella, teacher of philosophy at the Lyc\u00e9e des Mascareignes and founder of the Universit\u00e9 Populaire de l’\u00eele Maurice (UPIM), provided an historical overview, while Anouchka Sooriamoorthy, PhD in philosophy, offered a contemporary view of the issue at hand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both speakers addressed crucial questions, including the impact AI has on our ability to think, the importance of preserving human thought in an increasingly automated world, and the ethical challenges AI presents. Their debate was followed by a stimulating discussion, offering the audience a chance to delve deeper into AI\u2019s role in Mauritian society, the existence of local developers, and the potential for government bodies to use AI. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Approximately forty interested participants from a diverse range of backgrounds contributed their thoughts to the discussion, which shattered many preconceived ideas and confirmed certain concerns surrounding this issue as legitimate. The event provided a unifying moment of open exchange and paved the way for further meetings of this kind at the UIEH.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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International symposium: an intercultural approach <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The highlight of the Semaine de la Francophonie<\/em> in The West, however, was undoubtedly an international symposium on intercultural encounters. Held on the 21st<\/sup> and 22nd<\/sup> of March, the colloquium was chaired by Franco-Mauritian writer Jean-Marie Le Cl\u00e9zio, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the course of two days, renowned academics from Mauritius, France, R\u00e9union, and beyond explored the many facets of interculturalism in front of an audience of participants that included journalists, students, and academics, as well as leading figures from a range of socio-cultural and religious associations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The discussion covered themes ranging from ‘non-lethal’ identities to cultural exchanges and intercultural education and provided a valuable opportunity to reflect on the mutual enrichment between cultures made possible by today\u2019s globalised world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two intensive days of discussion allowed the speakers to offer a variety of perspectives on the challenges and opportunities presented by interculturality in today\u2019s world. Jean-Marie Le Cl\u00e9zio took the opportunity to present his essay “Se conna\u00eetre et se reconna\u00eetre”<\/em> (\u2018To know oneself and to recognise oneself\u2019). A conference booklet will be produced in the near future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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UIEH: The West’s flagship educational centre<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In providing a framework that facilitates essential debates on such topical issues, UIEH reaffirms its commitment to educational excellence, to the promotion of dialogue between cultures, and to the creation of engaging spaces for the sharing of knowledge and ideas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hosting these two events for the Semaine de la Francophonie<\/em> continues UIEH\u2019s engagement with the French language. The West\u2019s flagship educational centre offers French-language activities on a regular basis, in cooperation with celebrated francophone institutions (such as the Universit\u00e9 Paris Panth\u00e9on-Assas, Ensa Nantes and, more recently, SUPINFO<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another excellent illustration of UIEH\u2019s dynamism as they strive to create an environment conducive to intercultural learning and exchange!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Did you know?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

La Francophonie \u2013 with a capital “F”! \u2013 is an institutional body that manages relations between countries that share the French language. Founded in Niamey (Niger) in 1970, the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF<\/a>) promotes the French language and fosters cooperation between 88 member states and governments, including Mauritius. La\u00a0Francophonie adopted a Charter in 1997.
France will host the next Francophonie Summit (a biannual event) on the 4th<\/sup> and 5th<\/sup> of October 2024.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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March 2024 found The West buzzing with the rhythms of \u2018La Francophonie\u2019 at two events organised at Medine’s flagship education centre, Uniciti International Education Hub (UIEH). Let\u2019s take a look at some of the highlights. Parlez-vous fran\u00e7ais? Going far beyond a simple celebration of language, the Semaine de la Francophonie (Week of French Language) has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-non-classifiee"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-01 22:24:14","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7445"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7469,"href":"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7445\/revisions\/7469"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}