Alliance Française de Madras
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| Founded | 10 August 1953 |
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| Type | French cultural and language center |
| Location |
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Area served
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Tamil Nadu, India |
| Product | French cultural and language education |
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Key people
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Director: Pierre-Emmanuel JACOB Deputy Director / Course Director: Sarah BELRHALI |
| Website | madras.afindia.org |
Alliance Française of Madras (French: l'Alliance Française de Madras) is a Franco-Indian non-profit association in Chennai, India, with a mission to teach the French language to the people in the region. It was formed in 1953.
History
In 1948, a French Group, consisting mostly of Indian citizens, was formed to spread the French language and culture. Four years later, on 10 August 1953, the group officially became an alliance, registered under the Indian Societies Act XXI of 1860 against the number 39/1953.
In 1991, the Translation Cell of Alliance Française de Madras was founded. Since 1997, the Alliance Française of Madras has been in charge of the correspondence course in French, offered all over India, at beginners' level.
In 2005, Alliance française of Madras started an online course Click On French. The course is aimed at students who can not attend regular classes at the Alliance. ClickOnFrench course has been designed by the teachers of the Alliance, and allows the students to learn with the same quality method as the one used at the Alliance.
Institution
Alliance Française of Madras is part of the network of the 16 Alliances Françaises in India, under the jurisdiction of the Embassy of France in New Delhi and of the larger network of Alliances Françaises in 136 countries around the word, which themselves come under the Fondation Alliance Française in Paris.
The Alliance Française of Madras is situated in College Road, Nungambakkam. The premises covers more than 8,000 square metres (86,000 sq ft) and includes a garden, parking spaces and residential outhouses. The building occupies 1,700 square metres (18,000 sq ft) spread over three floors. There are eight classrooms, an exhibition gallery, a library-cum-multimedia centre, an auditorium and a cafeteria (La Cantine). The library-cum-multimedia centre situated at the entrance covers 130 sq m and was renovated in 2008. It has four rooms. It is open on all days except Mondays. The Edouard Michelin Auditorium, which can accommodate 200 persons, is used for film projections, plays, lectures and discussions.
About 3,000 students enroll at Alliance every year to learn French.[1] The Alliance also organises Tamil classes for ex-pats in the city.
The Alliance Française of Madras also has a branch in Adyar. Outside Chennai, it has branches in Coimbatore, Madurai and Trichy.[2]
Publication
Prélude (Prelude) is a bi-monthly programme published by the Alliance Française of Madras. It provides information about the cultural events and the language courses scheduled for the next two months. The 16-page newsletter in colour is made available only to the members of the Alliance, although it is distributed during events at the Alliance or given to occasional visitors.
