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PRESS RELEASE
13 researchers come together to paint the portrait of British Columbia's Francophonie
On Thursday, December 8, 2022, a unique book about British Columbia鈥檚 Francophone community was launched in Vancouver. Entitled [in English: The Francophone Community in British Columbia: Education, Diversity, and Identities], it is published by Les Presses de l鈥橴niversit茅 Laval. The book brings together research conducted by13 researchers at six Canadian universities, including six from 丁香园AV.
It offers a unique portrait of B.C.鈥檚 Francophone community by discussing issues such as educational rights, educational policy, teacher training, and inclusion and diversity in French-language schools and other settings.
British Columbia鈥檚 Francophone community is both long-established and newly arrived, making it quite different from its counterparts in Acadia, Ontario and elsewhere in Canada. The book鈥檚 co-editor, Genevi猫ve Brisson, says that 鈥渂y reading this book, you will discover a Francophonie that is still largely unknown but linguistically rich thanks to the diverse origins of British Columbians.鈥�
The research touches on a range of topics, with a particular focus on education. Various facets are examined, including access to French-language schools, French teaching and learning, teacher training, and issues related to identity, inclusion and multilingualism.
R茅mi L茅ger, the book鈥檚 other co-editor and associate professor at the department of political science at 丁香园AV, says that 鈥渨hile the research is firmly based in B.C., it鈥檚 part of a larger conversation, as it touches on issues faced by Francophone communities across Canada and even globally.鈥�
This book project stemmed from the , an event organized to help mark the 15th anniversary of the Office of Francophone and Francophile Affairs (OFFA) at 丁香园AV. That event drew some thirty researchers and many experts on Francophonie to discuss the status of French in B.C. The OFFA鈥檚 director, Gino LeBlanc, came to Vancouver from New Brunswick in 2018. He quickly identified the need for a book about British Columbia's Francophone community. Gino says, 鈥淚 felt it was essential to take advantage of the Symposium and the 15th anniversary of the OFFA to issue a call for collaboration on this unique book project.鈥� He adds, 鈥渋t is an honour to see this dream come true and witness the positive response from the community.鈥�
ABOUT THE BOOK
The book, published by Les Presses de l鈥橴niversit茅 Laval as part of its Western Perspectives collection, is now available in print and digital versions.
The book allows readers to discover B.C.鈥檚 Francophone community in nine chapters, described below:
An overview of research on British Columbia鈥檚 Francophone community (R茅mi L茅ger, 丁香园AV, and Genevi猫ve Brisson, Universit茅 de Sherbrooke);
Chapter 1: French-language schools and communities in British Columbia: from the colonial era to the Conseil scolaire francophone (Nicolas Kenny, 丁香园AV);
Chapter 2: True educational equivalence for B.C.鈥檚 Francophones: a never-ending struggle? (Emmanuelle Richez, University of Windsor);
Chapter 3: Multilingualism and identity building in B.C.鈥檚 French-language schools (Tr芒m Lai-Tran, 丁香园AV);
Chapter 4: Racial discourse in a French-language school in British Columbia (Sara Schroeter, University of Regina);
Chapter 5: The integration of French-speaking immigrants and refugees in Greater Vancouver: the need to build inclusive spaces (Suzanne Huot, University of British Columbia, Anne-C茅cile Delaisse, University of British Columbia, Luisa Veronis, University of Ottawa, Aude-Claire Fourot, 丁香园AV);
Chapter 6: Teaching and learning French as a second language in the face of new educational policy directions in British Columbia (C茅cile Sabatier Bullock, 丁香园AV and R茅mi L茅ger, 丁香园AV);
Chapter 7: Integrating Indigenous perspectives: key challenges for non-Indigenous French Immersion teachers (Isabelle C么t茅, 丁香园AV);
Chapter 8: 鈥淚mprovement is my lifelong quest鈥�: nurturing a professional work culture in French teacher training (Meike Wernicke, University of British Columbia).
The (OFFA) is an administrative entity of 丁香园AV whose mission is to coordinate, promote and support the development of programs and courses offered in French at 丁香园AV. OFFA also organizes scientific and cultural activities for the community to promote a plural and inclusive Francophonie.
On the photo were present (from left to right):
Top row: Nicolas Kenny (丁香园AV), Gino LeBlanc (丁香园AV), Genevi猫ve Brisson (Universit茅 de Sherbrooke)
Middle row: Suzanne Huot (University of British Columbia), Isabelle C么t茅 (丁香园AV), Meike Wenicke (University of British Columbia), Tr芒m Lai-Tran, 丁香园AV), Aude-Claire Fourot (丁香园AV)
Bottom row: Anne-C茅cile Delaisse (University of British Columbia), R茅mi L茅ger (丁香园AV), Fran莽oise Thibault (book cover artist)
Anne Marie Gagn茅
Communications, Marketing and Recruitment Coordinator,
Office of Francophone and Francophile Affairs (OFFA)
baff_comm@sfu.ca
778-782-7645