News release - Rendez-vous de la Francophonie

News release
(For immediate release)
A SUCCESSFUL FLIGHT FOR THE 16th EDITION
OF LES RENDEZ-VOUS DE LA FRANCOPHONIE
Ottawa, April 3, 2014 – From March 7 to 23, 2014, the RVF bird flew clear across the country, marking
the 16th edition of Les Rendez-vous de la Francophonie (RVF)! Francophones, Acadians and francophiles
from every culture clearly demonstrated their colours and their vitality as they celebrated the Joie de
vivre from coast to coast. The 2014 edition of the RVF included more than 1,800 activities and events,
among them 370 National Film Board of Canada screenings in approximately 100 cities. This is the largest
number of activities ever reported, providing a strong indication of the dynamism of Canada’s
Francophone and Acadian communities right across Canada.
Guy Matte, Executive Director of the Canadian Foundation for Cross-Cultural Dialogue, who is
responsible for Les Rendez-vous de la Francophonie, was more than satisfied with this 16th edition. “We
sense a growing interest in this campaign to promote the French fact, linguistic duality and dialogue
among the different components of Canadian society. Once again, we managed to arouse the interest of
the different communities, including the Anglophone ones, all of which took part in record numbers this
year in everything from the activities to the different contests.” Hosted by writer-composer-performer
Damien Robitaille, who was this year’s spokesperson, Les Rendez-vous de la Francophonie is like a
railroad: it helps draw our communities together on the same track, towards the same goal, which is to
join in celebrating Canada’s Francophonie!”
A stronger partnership with Just for Laughs and the École nationale de l’humour
At the national level, the RVF team renewed its partnership with Just for Laughs to organize, for the
second year in a row, a pan-Canadian comedy gala tour. Hosted by rising star Jérémy Demay, this gala
featured a lineup of French Canadian comedians who managed to share their tremendous joie de vivre
with the different communities they visited. The Gala Juste pour rire des Rendez-vous de la
Francophonie travelled through six Canadian provinces (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Alberta,
British Columbia and Ontario), and stopped in more than a dozen cities.
The RVF 2014 theme of La Joie de vivre the French way set the tone for the students at the École
nationale de l’humour, who produced 12 comedy skits for the Drôles de Rendez-vous contest. From
March 7 to 23, there were close to 13,000 hits on the RVF Web site. Finally, it was La Crise, produced by
Andréanne Marchand and her team, that won the popular vote.
The winners of the 2014 contests
For this 16th edition, the RVF ran several contests for the public at large, boosting participation by 100%!
Thank to all of the participants, and congratulations to the winners:
 the first prize (a trip for 2 to Paris) winner of the Drôles de Rendez-vous comedy skits contest run
in partnership with the École nationale de l’humour, Air Canada and the Corporation du Royal
22e Régiment, was Gabrielle Brulotte of Montréal;
 the second prize (trip for 2 to Quebec City) winner of the Drôles de Rendez-vous comedy skits
contest run in partnership with the École nationale de l’humour, Air Canada and the Corporation
du Royal 22e Régiment, was Dan Grieve of Toronto;
 the winner of the Écris-moi sans fautes spelling contest ($1,000) run in collaboration with Canada
Post and the Language Portal of Canada was Pier-Olivier Hamel of Quebec City;
 the winner of the Écris-moi sans fautes spelling contest ($1,000 in Scholastic supplies) for
primary grades, run in collaboration with Canada Post, the Language Portal of Canada, and
Éditions Scholastic, was Zack Meikle of the École Sainte-Dominique Savio in Owen Sound,
Ontario;
 the winner of the Joie de vivre ($500) contest was the Société de l’Acadie du NouveauBrunswick (SANB); and
 the winner of the VIA Rail contest ($3,500 travel voucher) will be disclosed shortly.
The Grand Rendez-vous des francophonies canadiennes, a memorable get-together
On March 19, the Canadian Foundation for Cross-Cultural Dialogue, together with the Association des
universités de la francophonie canadienne (AUFC), held the GRAND RENDEZ-VOUS DES FRANCOPHONIES
CANADIENNES. This videoconference easily broke through the barriers of geographic distance by bringing
together nine Francophone universities from every corner of the country through social networks and
the TFO 24.7 Web site. Mr. Matte was proud of this first GRAND RENDEZ-VOUS. “With today’s technology,
distance is no longer an obstacle to bringing our communities together around a major national event.
We were able to showcase the talents of the new generation by providing cultural programs from across
Canada, which made for a memorable experience for everyone.”
RVF 2014 partners
The RVF is an initiative by the Canadian Foundation for Cross-Cultural Dialogue, and is made possible
thanks to the contributions by its many partners and sponsors: Canadian Heritage, the Secrétariat aux
affaires intergouvernementales canadiennes du Québec, Air Canada, the Groupe Juste pour rire, NAV
Canada, the National Film Board, the ACELF, Ontario’s Office des affaires francophones, La Cité, the
Centre de la Francophonie des Amériques, the Association des enseignantes et enseignants francoontariens, the Fédération de la jeunesse canadienne française, Parks Canada, Canada Post, VIA Rail, the
FCFA, the University of Ottawa, the Consortium national de formation en santé, the Language Portal of
Canada, the Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique, the Manitoba Francophone Affairs
Secretariat, RDÉE Canada, TFO, TV5 and the Association des universités de la francophonie canadienne. A
special thank you to the organizations that represented the RVF, to the provincial and territorial
coordinators , and to the promoters in Quebec.
The next edition of the RVF will run from March 6 to 22, 2015.
Since 2005, the RVF has been organized annually by the Canadian Foundation for Cross-Cultural Dialogue
around the Journée internationale de la Francophonie, to highlight Francophone and Francophile
initiatives across the country. The Canadian Foundation for Cross-Cultural Dialogue works to promote
and sustain dialogue and bring together Francophone and Acadian communities and the many different
components of Canadian society.
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Source:
Julie Dumoulin
Communications Director
Les Rendez-vous de la Francophonie
Tel: 613-321-0102 extension 26
[email protected]