In the context of this spring's health crisis, France Éducation international's Language Assistants and Mobility service has adapted to continue its activities. The selection committees for language assistants, usually organised in situ in the partner's host country or in Sèvres, have taken on a completely new form. With the exception of the Arabic language committee, which was held just before lockdown, these meetings were held remotely by video-conference.
Although organising these committees involved significant preparatory work and longer working sessions than usual, the discussions were successful. All of the foreign partners were able to allocate assistant positions in France and in each country concerned, take stock of the activity over the past year, consider prospects and areas for improvement for the year to come, and submit the specific issues that concerned it.
In addition to the selection committees, the service has continued to prepare for the departure of future French-language assistants. Webinars in particular were organised with the help of partners from Taiwan, China, and Mexico. Strong involvement and sustained presence from all the partners ensured the success of these activities, which were decisive for the smooth progress of the assistants' mobility.
The difficulties during the recruitment phase for the 2020/2021 promotion of language assistants owing to the period's special circumstances will have been successfully overcome thanks to the collective work of all those responsible for coordinating the programme!