Alliance Française Kandy
Alliance Française de Kandy is a SriLankan non-profit organization established in 1967, and was registered in 1998 as a Company limited by guarantee under the Companies Act No.7 of 2007.
The objectives of AFK stated in the Articles of Association are:
To promote, encourage and assist in the acquisition and diffusion of knowledge of the French Culture and Laguage by and among the people in the district of Kandy
To establish, conduct, maintain and support libraries, reading rooms, study rooms, study groups and other facilities for the teaching and study of the French Culture and Language
To arrange for, hold and provide classes of instruction, cinema shows, concerts, debates, exhibitions, lectures, and radio programmes for the promotion and diffusion of knowledge of the French Culture and Language
To encourage and aid the foundation and maintenance of schools, Universities and other Institutions and bodies in Sri Lanka which are wholly or partly engaged in the teaching and study of the French Language and culture, subject however to the condition that the Association shall not be bound to finance any such school, University or institution.
To collect, classfy, print, publish and distribute books, journals, magazines, newspapers and other publications relating to French Culture and Language
To promote friendship, goodwill, social intercourse, and entertainment amongst members of AFK.
The Alliance Française Network
The Fondation Alliance Française coordinates an international network of 819 Alliances set up in 137 countries. This network reaches over 550,000 people all over the globe. The Alliance Française was founded in 1883 in Paris as “Association nationale pour la propagation de la langue française dans les colonies et à l’étranger” (National association for the propagation of the French language in French territories and abroad) under the aegis of Pierre Foncin and Ambassador Paul Cambon. The Paris Alliance was created the following year by a board of directors featuring illustrious names like Jules Verne (author), Louis Pasteur (chemist and biologist), and Ferdinand de Lesseps (diplomat). The first Alliance Française abroad was created the same year in Barcelona, Spain.
For the past 135 years or so, the Alliance Française has been overseeing an ambitious project: to spread French language and culture well beyond the borders of France by offering French language courses, promoting French and French-speaking cultures and encouraging intercultural dialogue and exchanges throughout the world. It is the first French-language school and the first cultural NGO in the world. Each Alliance Française centre is a non-profit, local law association.
Faithful to the values of its founders, the Alliance Française remains committed to the formula of an association. Each Alliance is part of this worldwide network united under a common Charter, but has been established under the laws in each country. While forging strong bonds with local cultural, educational and business institutions, the Alliance in each country is managed by a Board of Directors elected among the members of the association.
The network of Alliances Françaises in Sri Lanka and in the Maldives is headed by the Alliance Française de Colombo and four others at present: the AF Kandy, created in 1967; the AF Jaffna, created in 1976, and reopened since 2004; the AF Matara and its annex in Galle created in 1997; and the AF de Malé in the Maldives, created in 2009.
Activities of Alliance Française Kandy
Our core activities include French courses, educational innovation and the promotion of Francophone cultures and linguistic diversity.
Kandy’s famous Cultural Center, hosts the French Library as well as a digital Media Library, with access to daily French Newspapers, contemporary French literature and a selection of World Music Artists.
Our French Teacher Training programme includes trips to France via the BELC University Summer school organized by France Éducation International.
The AFK is managed by an Executive Committee of volunteer members, who dedicate some of their free time to the development of the institution.
