The French Club in Jeddah received the French Ambassador to the Kingdom, Ludovic Boy, in the Saudi Francophone Evening, which aims to showcase the Saudi culture of the French and Francophone community.
A group of French and French-speaking Saudis organized a unique event with environmental, tourist and recreational facilities that included tents and models of traditional buildings from various regions of Saudi Arabia, such as the Hijazi House, the southern stone fortress, the Jazaniya’s nest, the Najrani house, the Haili house, poetry houses and the Mahala heritage well.
French Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Bouy said: “I am pleased to participate in this Francophone evening organized by the French Club of Jeddah at our new tourist site on the occasion of the Francophone Festival for the year 2023 AD. Today, more than 88 countries have joined this community, 321 million French speakers and 51 million people are learning French.
For their part, the participants presented various events and activities such as riding a camel in the desert and visiting a typical museum of national heritage that displays traditional costumes, sessions, ancestral belongings and textiles, in addition to reciting French poetry translated into Arabic.
For his part, Ibrahim Al-Ghamdi, who returned to the homeland after completing his law studies from Purdue University, said: “We are here today to celebrate Saudi culture, and to introduce through it the values, customs and traditions of the ancient kingdom, including generosity, magnanimity, hospitality and maintaining strong family relations, as well as values and Islamic principles.
He added: «The first milestones in the relationship between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and France were the visits of Prince Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at the time to France in 1927 and 1932, which strengthened diplomatic relations between the two countries. Since then, many initiatives have been put in place to enhance cultural exchanges between Saudi Arabia and francophone countries, such as the establishment of the French Institute in Saudi Arabia in 2010.”
Participant Lian Damanhouri, a political science graduate from the University of Sciences Beau Paris, presented a paragraph on developments in the field of women's empowerment in light of Vision 2030, and said: “We wanted to provide a unique experience for the visitor to learn about culture and heritage in an entertaining and enjoyable way. The topic of women’s empowerment was chosen as part of the event’s program to review information about the developments and achievements of Saudi women over the years, as well as to highlight important personalities in various fields who have achieved distinguished successes that we are proud of.
Somaya Jakhdar, a specialist in English language literature from King Abdulaziz University, also participated in the paragraph and said: “It was a very beautiful and special experience to introduce other cultural symbols, such as traditional dress.”
Saudi pastry chefs, Afrah and her brother Muhammad Mashat, graduates of Le Cordon Bleu International Institute specializing in culinary arts in Paris, participated in the event by presenting French sweets with a Saudi taste, such as macaroons flavored with Saudi coffee and other delicious sweets. The event is part of the activities of the Francophonie Festival, which is held in March every year to promote the French language and cultural and linguistic diversity among the 88 member countries of the International Organization of La Francophonie.
Okaz (Jeddah)