KAMPALA – The Promotion of French language in Uganda is scoring by leaps and bounds which is a great trend in the right direction.
In the same spirit, Uganda is hosting the 11th Congress of French Teachers in Africa and the Indian Ocean at Makerere University Business School.
The week long congress has started on July 22- 26 and is aimed at fostering the French language as mode of development in the in the digital era and has attracted members from Rwanda, Burundi, Canada, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo and many other countries.
In her welcoming Remarks, Dr. Agatha Tumwine, President Association of French Teachers in Uganda (APFO) thanked all the participants and partners for having attended and made it possible to happen as an international conference that is being followed across the globe.
“The Conference today is an opportunity to appreciate how the French language can open and contribute to the development of the country and the digital aspects of teaching especially in the profession. I encourage all of us to share experiences and connect so that we can advance our knowledge in order to promote and improve our professional language”. She said.
Professor Milburga Atcero, National Trainer of the French Language in Uganda and senior lecturer at Makerere University Business School at the department of Hospitality expressed her joy and noted that all this started in 2016 when they went to Dakar and lobbied for the same to come to Uganda with her fellow colleagues and that she so delighted it has come to pass.
“I welcome you to the conference at MUBS, and thanks to the gracious hospitality of the administration for giving us this venue that has been open. We are deeply grateful to the government of Uganda for creating a peaceful environment.
This is the first time in the history of Uganda to host this, and we want to have many of this in the country from the Francophonie market and the beauty you are opening up.
I thank all the partners and our sponsors especially the French Embassy who have supported us all through and the Ministry of Internal Affairs for making the VISA processes more swiftly for the participants” added Professor Milburga.
Professor Moses Muhwezi, Principal Makerere University Business School said that it was their first time to have many countries of that nature at their institution.
“I welcome you to MUBS and Uganda. I express my gratitude to the APFO team for choosing us and it is a confirmation that we are committed to the promotion of French in Uganda.
French as a global language plays a pivotal role in culture, business and other aspects and thank you for bringing this to our Institution.
As educators it is our duty to prepare our students with the right skills for the outside world. We need a language to communicate and this will enable us to do more, adding that this is why at MUBS they have a whole academic department dedicated to this” said Professor Muhwezi.
He also noted that their work goes beyond classrooms and it opens doors to students to recognize and embrace the international market.
The Conference also had various sessions on how they could improve teaching of the French language in the digital era, ways of motivating and teaching French the youth, the use of modern digital spaces and platforms to make learning easier and attractive and many others plus different players exhibiting their products and services they offer.
