From March 5th to 21st 2010, the Rendez-vous de la Francophonie celebrate Canadian francophone culture and language. From the Atlantic seaboard to the Pacific coast, Canadians everywhere are warmly invited to take a journey of discovery and dialogue, forging links with no fewer than 9.5 million Canadian Francophones and Francophiles.

The theme of this latest edition will be the importance of getting to know each other better, to get along better: "Discovery stimulates interaction. Interaction leads to understanding. Understanding builds a better future."

Native and indigenous French-speakers, newcomers or Francophiles, French lovers everywhere are set to come together during the Rendez-vous de la Francophonie in celebration of their culture and language.

2010 Rendez-vous de la Francophonie Committed spokespeople

This year, the two official spokespeople for the Rendez-vous de la Francophonie are Olympic speed-skating champion Catriona Le May Doan, and singer Mario Pelchat. For Catriona, a staunch Francophile, it was an easy decision to sign up to this major Francophone cultural event: "I am extremely proud to speak both of Canada’s official languages. Being bilingual is very important to me. My children are learning and will continue to learn French. I would encourage all young people to learn the two official languages. It’s definitely an advantage." Meanwhile, Mario Pelchat invites us to discover the Francophone world: "On my tours, I’ve been lucky enough to visit the different parts of Quebec and meet the country’s Francophone and Acadian communities. Every time I’ve come away enchanted. There’s nothing like real contact for discovering and appreciating the vibrancy of all these French-speaking environments."

A full and wide-ranging program

Once again this year, the Rendez-vous de la Francophonie will be presenting a wide range of activities, including film screenings with the National Film Board of Canada, a contest and special edition of C‘est ça la vie, to be broadcast on the Radio-Canada television channel, special events in libraries and cultural centres, not to mention the literally thousands of activities organized by Francophones and Francophiles from all kinds of backgrounds in their own communities, which form the beating heart of the Rendez-vous.