Governor General
French for the FutureFounded in 1997 by John Ralston Saul, French for the Future is a national non-profit association that organizes a series of French-language conferences for high school students. The primary goals of the conferences are to forge linguistic and cultural links among students enrolled in French first and second-language education programs (principally immersion) and to help students think about their bilingual and bicultural lives, now and in adulthood, including the positive career potential resulting from learning a second language. The City of Toronto hosted the inaugural French for the Future conference in April 1997. Over 200 students from eight schools attended the conference that year. Today, the organization has expanded to 12 cities and involves over 3,000 students. The conference also now includes a live satellite link that provides participants with the opportunity to speak to their peers and exchange views about the challenges and benefits of learning a second language. In 2003, conferences were held in St. John’s, Halifax, Charlottetown, Fredericton, Montréal, Toronto, Sudbury, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Calgary, Vancouver and Yellowknife. In April 2004, Mr. Saul traveled to Calgary to participate in a variety of events to celebrate the 30th anniversary of French Immersion programming and the importance of Franco-Albertan culture in the area. Related Information: |
