Macau (MNA) – The new director of the Alliance Française of Macau, William Bascaule, who was stationed in Shanghai for over ten years, was chosen to spearhead the local French institution from a list of some 30 applicants. Speaking to MNA, Mr. Bascaule said the institution – which celebrated 30 years in the Macau SAR last year – hosts over 20 cultural events annually. He claims he will work to increase its local imprint, while optimizing relationships with local partners and actors.
MNA. How did you become the director of Alliance Française of Macau?
William Bascaule. I have occupied different positions, and considered a little bit the network in North America and Europe, and finally the opportunity presented itself in Macau. My candidature was part of a list of some 30 applications. The post was opened in January or February, but at that time I did not apply for the position, because I was more interested in discovering a new network, since I had already been stationed ten years in Shanghai, 11 years, to be precise, and I wanted to explore something else.
I was in a city which is very interesting professionally [Shanghai], really one of the most interesting at current times, but my [personal] priorities had changed throughout the years. I also wanted to remain in the network of Alliance Françaises, which is a network that I appreciate, for several reasons, firstly, because I am passionate about intercultural matters. I think it is very rewarding and gratifying as a human being to be able to work in education, culture, the understanding between people. Secondly, because it is a non-profit association, whose aims are education, cultural development and integration in the local community. In this regard, we are still in a very different perspective from the private sector, which I personally believe corresponds better to what I envision.
Are you planning to implement changes, expand, or work towards more integration with the local community?
WB. Alliance Française’s main mission is the promotion, in all its forms, of French and Francophone culture, mainly the language, but not only; also all forms of artistic expression. By extension, our mission is also to defend certain values, including mutual understanding and the fight against discrimination, in addition to integration in the host country (…). One of the specificities is also that the ensemble of employees from the host Alliance ought to be locals. The only foreigners present [in the local institution] are the director and, usually, the team of teachers. At the moment here, the teaching team is one hundred per cent French, but that does not mean that a local cannot teach, as long as he or she holds the relevant qualifications to do so (…). That said, generally speaking, the students prefer to have a native speaker, which is understandable.
How many teachers currently work at Alliance Française in Macau?
WB. We have four teachers and approximately 900 different students per year. It is a small team and group, but we are lucky because there is no competition. We have more than the exclusivity in private courses; there is no French department at the universities here. That said, I don’t know what is the usage of online courses in Macau, but for face-to-face interaction courses, we might touch one hundred per cent of the people interested in learning French, and I hope it will continue as such.
What is the profile of students currently enrolled at Alliance Française of Macau?
WB. Within the [AF] Chinese network, the profile usually consists of students between 20 and 30 years old, who have just graduated or are in the process of getting a Master’s degree. Moreover, the reason why those people come to learn French has changed a lot in the last few years. Ten years ago, the main motivation was immigration. Either they had a goal to study in one of the universities in France, or in Europe, or they had plans to immigrate to acquire, for instance, nationality in Quebec (…).
Over these last years, the situation has changed to what we call learning French for fun. So, we have two types of people. First, the people who ‘return’. According to official numbers, 90 per cent of the students, that is, Chinese who had left to study in France, return, and the majority wish to keep their rapport with French culture, and Alliance Française is there to respond to that. The other group consists of people that, for different reasons, are interested in the francophone culture, whose interests are quite diverse, ranging from gastronomy and cinema, to literature and tourism as well.
In addition to the Baroque music festival and Le French May, in partnership with Alliance Française in Hong Kong, what other initiatives are being planned under your tenure?
WB. On the one hand, the director has a strong administrative role, especially in regards to the organization of the school proper. This requires knowledge about all things pedagogical, methods, management, human resources, and so on. On the other hand, there is a ‘diplomatic’ role, more cultural, and of integration in the local fabric, with the development of projects with local partners or sponsors, and sometimes international sponsors and international projects.
In addition to the examples you mentioned, there is also a partnership with the city of Angers, in France, with a cinema festival called Premier Plan, and a partnership with the city of Nice, in a collaboration that has lasted for the last five years.
On our side, there is a cultural programme established with the China network, which currently comprises 17 Alliances, including the one in Mongolia, which have a shared programme. These are activities we will continue to develop within the cultural field, within three avenues, namely: the China network; international projects with France; and local projects financed by Alliance Française of Macau, such as the Baroque music festival, organized with the help of local sponsors as well, such as the Macao Foundation, which finances a large chunk of this festival.
Is there a project linked to French cuisine?
WB. As of today, I have projects in mind, but I have not yet submitted them to the Executive Committee or the team, although gastronomy could make part of our programme. In any case, and because I have just arrived, I think we will keep the previous approach for the cultural agenda. I think that for an Alliance Française which is as small as the one in Macau, it is already pretty good. There are approximately some 20 to 25 cultural events organized every year (…). My idea is mainly to consolidate a bit what is already being done. Over the last few years, several new events and things have been created, and there is always some work to do with them, to consolidate the connections, reinforce them (…). And there is also still a lot of turnover on both sides, be it on the part of the French partners and French policies, or on the part of local initiatives. Which means that many of them can disappear as fast as they have emerged. Coming from another place, I have the impression that it is still quite fragile, also considering that it can be optimized.
Are there any partnerships in sight with the Chamber of Commerce?
WB. It is part of the optimization of local partnerships, by reinforcing the relationships, which is crucial for me and for the committee as well as the president [of AF]. An Alliance Française is an association with a local imprint. It should integrate into the local community and answer to the expectations of that community. Our vocation is to be popular, not in the negative connotation of the term, but rather in the positive sense, popular as in being capable of answering to the local society as a whole, be it the children, the youth, adults or the elderly. This is also what makes us different from other cultural networks, which are sometimes perceived from the outside as being slightly elitist (…). It is one of the Alliance’s strengths as well, being capable of more easily connecting to the locality. We will continue to work in this regard with our partners and the different social actors involved with us.
What are your current plans for the learning of French, the education branch of the school proper?
WB. In regards to the education arm of Alliance Française, there are several ongoing projects being revised, especially in regards to the courses for children. It is a field developing enormously. Not only in China, but also in Macau, there is huge demand, and one of our mandates will be to respond to this demand in a qualitative fashion, while trying to propose a new offer of specific courses, with French taught as a mother tongue, tailored for children who speak French at home but who are not being formally educated in a French system (…). I’ll try to quickly be able to respond to this demand, and try to develop the examinations [DELF and DALF], which are valid for life, that validate a certain level of language proficiency. It has been developed for the last few years. And for different reasons, it does not correspond to its potential, and we are going to try to improve it.
