The regional BELCs: 10 years and counting!
Launched in 2012 in Doha at the request of the Insitut français of Qatar, the regional BELCs were created to respond to the expectations of institutes in the French cultural network overseas that want to organise key moments on a regional scale. 10 years and 35 events later, we welcome a return to this unique initiative that is valued by French professionals around the world.
Since 2012, France Éducation international has endeavoured to use the vast experience of BELC universities organised in France over 50 years to develop a new training opportunity that is contextualised with a key objective: to act locally and as closely as possible with the needs of professionals by providing tailored course content.
Therefore, each event has led to close cooperation between partners – most often cultural departments of embassies, the Instituts français and the Alliances française – and the FEI teams. Pedagogical, organisational and administrative support is offered at every stage of implementing the project, from analysing needs to evaluating actions. It is now supplemented with use of the open and remote FEI+ education platform and the Ev@lang aptitude test, which makes it possible to assess the participants’ level of French and direct them towards recommended modules.
During each event, specialists in French language teaching, evaluation, instructional design and training, quality approach, and team management take part in a 30-hour week of intensive training. They share their perspectives on the evolution of French-language teaching where its professional, disciplinary, and methodological aspects are concerned, with participants coming from a wide range of backgrounds, including teacher-trainers, educational coordinators, course directors, school administrators, cooperation attachés, etc.
The regional BELCs were also designed to be spaces for discussion, providing the opportunity to share practices and create a local network of expertise. In addition to the time spent on education, many sessions were offered to participants, including workshops, publishing forums, networking sessions and cultural activities.
Over ten years, 35 events have been organised in 24 countries, and almost 3,000 professionals have benefitted from customised training! This is a “turnkey” measure that is intended to respond to the issues shared on a local level. A wide range of formats has been proposed, both in-person and remote, for tutored or self-taught options in order to guarantee an ample degree of flexibility and enable adaptation to local constraints.
The regional BELCs will celebrate their ten-year anniversary in Abidjan from November 21st to 25th 2022. This event will take place in the Ivory Coast with participants from Burkina Faso, Gabon, Senegal and Mali and will provide an opportunity to reflect on the issues linked to plurilingualism and functional literacy. The Institut français of Paris, a partner and major support for many years, will, of course, be there with FEI to wish many more successful years to this educational initiative that is particularly valued by those working in the French-language sector around the world.