Francophone students of ”Nicolae Testemitanu” University at the Festival of francophone gastronomy and culture

Francophone students of Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy from Algeria, Congo, India, France, Morocco, Tunisia and the Republic of Moldova participated in the first edition of the "Gastronomie et Culture Francophones" Festival. The event was organized on March 7 by the National Office of the Francophone University Agency (AUF Moldova) at Casa din Lunca guesthouse in the village of Trebujeni, located in Orheiul Vechi Museum Complex.

The festival marked the beginning of the activities dedicated to Francophonie Days 2024 in the Republic of Moldova and brought together Francophone students of different nationalities from AUF member universities of the country, in a convivial event, to show the traditional dishes and culture of Francophone countries. 

Guests of honor at the event were: Mohamed Ketata, regional director of AUF for Central and Eastern Europe, Maria Neagu, attaché for cooperation, the Cooperation and Cultural Action Service at the French Embassy in the Republic of Moldova, and Pierre Porru,  representative of the Embassy of Belgium in Moldova. The festival was inaugurated by Claudia Visan, director of the AUF Moldova Office, who welcomed the presence of francophone students, expressing her gratitude for their enthusiasm, dynamism and active involvement in organizing the event. 

Veronica Ichim, deputy head of the Department of External Relations and European Integration, responsible for francophone cooperation at Nicolae Testemitanu University, mentioned that the organization of this sociocultural event had a special meaning for our francophone student community, as it provided a unique platform to celebrate and promote the cultural and culinary diversity of the Francophone world. "Our university, by participating in this festival, emphasized, once again, its commitment to the promotion of the French language and francophone values, a fact that contributes to strengthening the sense of belonging and unity among the francophone student community". 

Oxana Sarbu, vice dean, Faculty of Medicine no. 2 of Nicolae Testemitanu University, pointed out that through collaboration and team work, francophone students had the opportunity to get to know each other better, learn from each other and create long-term friendships. 

In total, more than 80 francophone students, teachers and students, from 11 countries, celebrated the French language and the diversity of French culture. Combining two forms of expression – culture and gastronomy – the festival included workshops for the preparation of traditional dishes and food tastings, accompanied by folk dance and songs, specific to the countries of origin. 

The given activity was organized to mark 30 years of the AUF activity in the Central and Eastern Europe, the objectives being: highlighting francophone values, such as cultural diversity and the exchange of good practices, promoting the culinary heritage of francophone students, capitalizing on international students who study in The Republic of Moldova and the development of the internationalization of universities in our country.