Our future in Benin, June 6-8, 2024: "French, for what?"

Published on 9 June 2024

Bénin, du 6 au 8 juin 2024 : « Le français, pour quoi faire ? »

The 6th edition of the "Our Future - Dialogues Afrique Europe" series of Forums was held in Cotonou, Benin.

Forum presentation

Three days of debates for the general public, a hackathon and participatory workshops around the theme "French for what?" to question the place of the French language, the opportunities it can offer and the obstacles it can be associated with.

In particular, the workshops helped formulate concrete proposals and projects to feed into the 19th Francophonie Summit, held in France on October 4 and 5, 2024.

Designed with a Beninese editorial committee, the forum was held at the Palais des Congrès in Cotonou.

Find here all the content produced on the occasion of the forum: feedback on the workshops, testimonials from participants, podcasts.

500 participants from 18 countries

12 voices of leaders, but also 1 hackathon and 2 podcasts (identités rhizomiques and Le podcast de Laboratorio arts Contemporains).

6 conference-debates

The hackathon

As part of the forum, the editorial committee in collaboration with Epitech Bénin, L'envol and Blolab Bénin organized a hackathon to tap into the full potential of digital technology to promote multilingualism.

The aim was to produce prototype solutions that would help promote and teach several languages at the same time, or promote Benin's linguistic and cultural diversity. 10 teams of young Beninese, accompanied by professional coaches worked for 5 days to develop prototypes.

© Tognissè Aziakou pour l'Institut français du Bénin

The hackaton winners and their projects

Creativ Team, for its "Nǔlɛnmɔ" project (meaning "Calculating Machine" in Fon), a digital calculator offering an intuitive interface and features tailored to the needs of people who are non-literate or unfamiliar with official languages. Nǔlɛnmɔ transcribes the results of operations in six languages: Fon, Dendi, Baatonum, Adja, Peulh and Yoruba, using voice-reading functionality. A tool that could potentially improve users' arithmetic skills, empowerment and productivity, while promoting their inclusion in the informal sector of the economy.

TANDA, which offers a sign language translator capable of converting signs into conventional languages (Fon, French, etc..), accompanied by an interactive learning space to teach the different dialects of African sign language.

Black Roots - has developed "LangueQuest" is an educational and immersive video game designed to learn and practice local Beninese languages, such as Fon and Dendi, in a fun and interactive way. The game will be developed using Unity, a video game development platform. LangueQuest invites players to embark on a fascinating adventure through virtual regions of Benin, where they must solve puzzles, complete missions and interact with non-player characters (NPCs) using local languages.

The 3 winning teams will benefit from Epitech's incubation program and will go on to present their projects at the next Francophonie Summit to be held in Paris on October 4, 2024.

Podcast "Laboratorio Arts Contemporains"

A podcast by Edouard GNANSOUNOU (student journalist).

The question of French is unleashing passions at a time when pan-Africanism is asserting itself in every sense. Questioning the future of French in this context seems legitimate! Should French, once considered the first language of diplomacy, still be taught? Can it travel? And for what?

Discover the podcast
 

Interviews with the organizers

Godline ABGBIDINOUKOUN, member of the editorial committee- Interview conducted by Jean-Luc Ezin (student journalist)

"It's important today to review Africa-Europe relations. It's not by radicalization that we'll get there, but in a framework of discussion and consultation to find the right balance and review the social contract that links Africa to Europe.

During our tour of Benin's universities, I saw students who were 1000% involved. This means that the question "what's French for?" is topical, interesting and passionate. Students have things to say. We've listened to them, and in fact we've run out of time.

What I want to say to Africa's youth is that nobody will do it for us. When we talk about our future, what future are we talking about? We know our past, a sad and chaotic past. We see the present. What is our future? How do we envision it? At some point, we're going to have to roll up our sleeves. It's time for a wake-up call, an awakening, and for us to understand that if we don't do it, no one will do it for us.

This Cotonou Forum is a stepping stone towards the Francophonie summit to be held in October 2024, where the deliverables and projects that will emerge from the "French for what?" forum will be presented. I think things will change in Benin with the momentum of this forum."

Lionel BRIAND, director of the Institut français du Bénin - Interview conducted by Jean-Luc Ezin (student journalist)

"We need to bring African and European youth into greater dialogue. This Our Future forum, it's important for these American, Asian, African, European young people who are evolving in this increasingly globalized world to build a common future.

During this forum, certain themes were proposed so that we could talk about everything and no longer put aside questions the subjects that might bother us because there is a past, a heavy colonial history.

Many students from the 4 corners of Benin made the trip to take part in the "French for what?" forum. They took the floor, participated in workshops and expressed their views on the place and challenges of the French language, a highly topical subject at the heart of the daily lives of young people residing in the French-speaking world."

Press review

Print:

Television:

8pm News, ORTB, June 6, 2024

Radio:

Influencers:

Find out more about other Our future forums

Our future - Dialogues Afrique-Europe

Launched in October 2022, the Our Future - Africa-Europe Dialogues project intends to continue the dialogue and build new foundations for relations between Africa and Europe.

DT Notre futur Média principal

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