Alliance Française du Bengale (AFB), the French educational and cultural institution in Kolkata which is part of an international network that works under the triple umbrella of the French Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Fondation des Alliances Françaises in Paris, and an Indian board, completed 85 years this year in the eastern city. Established in Kolkata in 1940, AFB is an integral part of the city's French cultural connection and a hub of learning the language of love. However, with globalisation AFB now focuses on imparting globalised skills to learners, opening a second campus in the city in collaboration with Techno India in its efforts to combine culture with language learning. In a free-wheeling interview with IBNS editor Sujoy Dhar, AFB  Executive Director Nicolas Facino shares AFB's objectives and activities circa 2025

So AFB now has a second campus in Kolkata's IT hub Sector V in collaboration with Techno India University. Are you expanding in other regions in the East?

Besides Park Street (the iconic Park Mansion in Kolkata), the Alliance Francaise du Bengale (AFB) now has a second campus in Sector V on the campus of Techno India University. We (AFB) completed 85 years in the city. We are expanding- in Kolkata - as well as in cities like Bhubaneswar and Guwahati. Besides the new campus in Sector V with Techno India, this year we started a branch in Bhubaneswar. In August we are opening a centre in Guwahati.

Four years ago AFB was in fifth position in India. We are now in second position. The MoU we signed with Techno India is for French learning. We even have a French street artists' platform onTechno campus, screen French films, as cultural assimilation is the best way to learn French. We are offering a diploma after the students pass and the diploma is recognised worldwide.

Can studying in France be an option pitted against the giants like the US or the UK where our students go for higher education?

Of course Indians can go to France to study. You actually spend 20 times less than what you spend in the US and obtain the same  quality of education. Actually we receive regular queries from Indian companies, including IT firms, for recommending people who know French to work with them. Learning French is as much in vogue as it was earlier and now with globalisation, every skill should be globalized too for competitive edge. We focus on that. We ensure that everyone coming to learn French here is very well-prepared through our teaching and methods. It is our commitment.  Countries like France, Africa, Canada, Switzerland are looking for people from here who know French. We receive several times a month calls from Indian companies with international markets, including IT firms and hospitality industry, for profiles. They are also looking for French-speaking engineers or software engineers to work with them.

AFB's emphasis has always been on cultural exchanges. How are you integrating that with the expansion of your language learning facilities and modern education? 

Well, we are trying to connect language learning more with the cultural connect. The best way to learn French is through cultural engagements. AFB completed 85 years this year and so we celebrated with festivals, including a film fest, and more. We conduct some 100-odd events every year anyway. We held two festivals- one on Western classical music concert (the third season as continuity of previous seasons) and one French film festival. Indian musicians like Avishek Lahiri (on sarod) and Subhadrakalyan Rane (on tabla) performed. We earlier held photography exhibitions at the Indian Museum. We are organising exhibitions (in partnership with the most famous museum in France-The Guimet Museum in Paris -  dedicated to Asian art and culture), concerts, conferences, theatre and film shows- we are on every form of art. French street artists  performed in Kolkata, and perhaps such occasions are the best way to connect culturally and learn French. Our loyalty with our partners is meaningful. 

Coming back to cultural engagement, we celebrated when the Commander of the National Order of the Legion of Honour, the highest decoration in France, was conferred to Satyajit Ray in 1987 and then in 2017 on late actor Soumitra Chatterjee. But these are times when we do not have in Bengal living legends or icons like them. So in the absence of an icon how are the cultural engagements with France faring?

Well, I see Satyajit Ray as an inspiration for young people. There is one Goddard or one Satyajit Ray. But I think what Satyajit Ray's celebration in France achieved is the focus on his legacy and anyone from this part of India can think "I can do it". The most important thing is the legacy which provides a cultural fertile soil for all generations. I think the best message from Ray to the new generation is to say "Yes, you can do this." I have visited Jadavpur University and SRFTI and saw some great works in the form of short films made by the students. They know a lot of things, including the French new wave. They have the skill. The legacy of Satyajit Ray sends a message to all of them. You perhaps know how Ray met Renoir in 1949 during the making of the film The River. It is a globalised world now, so you can take a flight to LA or Paris and go to the best school or work with great productions and come back and work in the place where they have their origin. Kolkata is a community of intellectuals and creative people. The present generation live in the same territory of Tagore and Ray and so they can achieve a lot.

(Photos by Avishek Mitra / IBNS)