Geneva (VNA) - A ceremony took place onMarch 14 at the Headquarter of the United Nations (UN) in Geneva, Switzerland tocelebrate the International Francophone Day (March 20).
The event saw participation of crowds ofrepresentatives from diplomatic missions and international organisations in thecity, including Ambassador Duong Tri Dung, head of the Vietnamesepermanent mission to the United Nations, the WTO and otherinternational organisations in Geneva.
Addressing the event, Dominique de Buman, head of the Grand Council of Geneva,highlighted the value of language and culture diversity conveyed by French,reflected via the harmonious coexistence of the French, German and Italianlanguage speaking communities in his country.
Michael Moeller, Director-General of the UNOffice at Geneva also underlined the role of French language inpromoting language diversity, saying that it enriches the UN system.
On the occasion, Ambassador Dung, who is alsoVice Chairman of the Group of Francophone Ambassadors (GAF) inSwitzerland, and GAF leaders presented the group’s awards to Michael Moellerand Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the United Nations High Commissioner for HumanRights, for their outstanding contributions to promoting the values of Frenchlanguage and diversity of culture and language at the UN institutions.
The ceremony also featured art performances byartists from Armenia, the host of the 17th Francophonie Summit inOctober.-VNA