In July, French for the Future attended the Northwestern Francophone Games (JFCNO) in Victoria, BC, to present Fr+ as the platform partner of the event. The collaboration with the Games organizers established Fr+ as the online relay for the activities. This was the first partnership of this scale for the platform, and its aim was to connect young participants in French, before, during and after the event.
Francophone youth events bring together teenagers who often live in a minority context back home. Thanks to projects like the JFCNO, young Francophones and Francophiles can meet other attendees that speak French and that they can build their Francophone community with. The question is how can they nurture these newly-formed ties while continuing to communicate in French? The vast majority of youth will keep in touch on social media like Instagram, TikTok or Snapchat. However, these well-established spaces reproduce the French minority situation that exists offline. How can we encourage kids to keep interacting in French after they've participated in Francophone events?
This is where Fr+ comes in. On one hand, the space helps to maintain and reinforce the sense of community created during Franco-youth events. On the other hand, it facilitates the continued use of French long after the events are over.
By being in direct contact with teens at the JFCNO, members of the French for the Future team were able to take valuable notes to identify the changes needed to continue to enrich Fr+ and offer youth a space that is 100% suited to them.
French for the Future would like to thank the organizers of The Northwestern Francophone Games for supporting the organization's vision by becoming the first partner to integrate the platform into their event, and hopes that this partnership will be the first in a long series of collaborations with organizations of the Canadian Francophonie.