Al-Bashaer High School in Baalbek held a celebration under the patronage of the French ambassador to Lebanon Bruno Foucher, represented by the regional director of the French Centre in the Bekaa Samuel Mem, in celebration of its receipt of the French language quality label certificate “CELF”, in the presence of the governor of Baalbek-Hermel Bachir Khodr, the counsellor for cooperation and works at the embassy Luciano Rispoli, the head of the Baalbek municipality Brigadier General Hussein Al-Laqis, the head of the Housh Al-Nabi municipality Fouad Al-Hajj Hassan, the supervisor of Al-Mabarrat's schools in the central Bekaa Ibrahim Al-Saeed, mukhtars and cultural, educational, security and social figures.
The celebration opened with a recitation from the Holy Quran and with the Lebanese and French anthems, and a speech by the ceremony's presenter Loulou Suleiman.
The school's pupils then presented in French the choral piece “Children of the Earth” and an artistic item to the strains of the anthem “Children of Peace”.
Al-Jamal
The school's director Itidal Al-Jamal delivered a speech in which she expressed her pleasure, saying: “We gather on the occasion of the school's obtaining, with high competence, the language quality certificate, and we work so that our school, which has been keen to develop the standard of French, may shine in the Francophone sky.”
She added: “We achieved this through intensive training, quality activities, active teaching and deep learning strategies and attention to individual differences, in coordination with the French Centre, which was present with every support - and we are proud to have achieved this.”
Khodr
Governor Khodr said: “At the outset I can only express my happiness and my pride at the achievement Al-Bashaer High School has made through its distinguished pupils, not only in French but in all the teaching and procedural subjects, thanks to the school's wise administration, the high standard of the teachers, and the families' vigilance in raising and caring for their children.”
He added: “Hence I allow myself to declare Baalbek the capital of Francophonie in the Bekaa thanks to this achievement, in addition to its being the capital of culture in Lebanon.”
He held that “Francophonie is not a language we converse in; it is a set of human values”.
Rispoli
Rispoli delivered the speech of the French embassy in Lebanon, saying: “With great desire I have had the honour of hanging on your building the plaque of the French language quality label. This celebration testifies to our pressing will to share the French language with Lebanese society, and it reflects the firm relationship between Lebanon and France.”
He pointed out that “the meaning of the “CELF” plaque sums up constructive work with the participation of the working team of the French Centre in Lebanon”, and said: “I want to shed light on the fact that this success came through the efforts and seriousness of the trainees and their desire to learn.”
He affirmed that “more than 80 Lebanese institutions are already committed to the process of awarding the language quality labels, and consequently there are more than 30,000 pupils in Lebanon who are proficient in French”.
