On March 21, the Department of Translation and Interpretation students came together to celebrate International Francophonie Day with a memorable event, organized by Dr. Eyüp Özgür Özen.
The celebration featured a full program combining art, music and linguistic appreciation. Students staged a play titled “La Vie est une Interprétation,” creatively reflecting the spirit of interpretation and cultural dialogue. This was followed by a mini concert of French songs, showcasing the students’ enthusiasm for French language and culture. Dr. Özen also delivered an engaging presentation on the playful and fascinating features of the French language, offering participants new perspectives on the richness of French linguistic traditions.
International Francophonie Day is celebrated each year on March 20, commemorating the establishment of the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation (ACCT) in 1970 in Niamey, Niger. This agency set the foundation for what would later become the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF). Celebrating Francophonie means recognizing the power of language and culture to bring people together, thereby creating spaces of solidarity, understanding and collective reflection on a shared future. As the writer Édouard Glissant so eloquently put it, French today is “decentred, multiplied, creolized,” spoken by nearly 300 million people across the globe.