Canadian Ambassador Caroline Charette held a special class for high schoolers in Szeged

Caroline Charette, Canada's Ambassador to Hungary, held a class in French for high school students recently in Szeged.

On March 30, the Ambassador visited the Model High and Primary School of the University of Szeged, where the teaching of the French language has been around for a long time. In the 2022/23 academic year, over 170 students are learning French, of which 77 are attending the bilingual program.

During the special class, Ambassador Charette talked about the geography, the people, the languages, and other aspects of Canada, and after her presentation, answered many questions from the students and their teachers. The Ambassador highlighted some of the core values of Canadian culture, like openness and diversity.

Ambassador Charette explained that ties between Canada and Hungary go back a long time. She talked about the thriving community of the approximately 350.000 Canadians of Hungarian origin, whose parents arrived in Canada mainly between the two world wars, and in 1956.

Other topics included economical immigration, the Canadian educational system, and the effect of climate change on Canada. Students were also eager to find out what a regular workday of the Ambassador of Canada looks like.

"The embassy approached our school with this opportunity. March is the month of Francophonie, i.e. the month of French speakers, in connection with which many events took place throughout the country. The aim of the program is to arouse interest in other countries that use the French language in addition to France, and to provide an insight into the richness of Francophone culture." - Réka Filó, head of the French bilingual department of the SZTE Model High and Primary School told reporters.

Photos: Szilvia Molnar / Szegedify