April 25, 2006
OTTAWA -- Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, will be in Montreal, on Wednesday April 26, 2006, to take part in two events marking the Année Senghor.
This year has been declared the Année Senghor by the International Organisation of the Francophonie (OIF) to honour the centenary of the birth of former Senegalese president Léopold Sédar Senghor, a major figure in world literature and one of the founding fathers of the Francophonie.
The Governor General will take part in the following events:
Inauguration of the Léopold-Sédar-Senghor Square (3:30 p.m., Université de Montréal campus, 2900 Édouard-Montpetit Boulevard)The Governor General, along with the rector of the Université de Montréal, Luc Vinet, will inaugurate the Léopold-Sédar-Senghor Square during a ceremony organized jointly by the City of Montreal and the Université de Montréal. The mayor of Paris and president of the Association internationale des maires francophones, Bertrand Delanoë, and the mayor of Montreal, Gérald Tremblay, will also be present. This event will be held during the symposium of the Association internationale des maires francophones entitled Villes, savoirs et développement local.
For more information, please contact Sophie Langlois, director, Media Relations, Université de Montréal, at (514) 343-7704, or at sophie.langlois@umontreal.ca.
Evening dedicated to Léopold Sédar Senghor and Screening of the film Moolaade (18:00 p.m., Imperial Cinema Centre)The Governor General will deliver remarks prior to the screening of Moolaade, a film by Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembene about the fight against excision. The evening is organized by Vues d'Afrique, a non-profit organization promoting cultural exchange through specialized activities that help to raise awareness among Canadians of the richness of African and Creole cultures and of the issues at stake in international development.
Vues D'Afrique invites all women born in Africa to a free film screening.
For more information, please contact Suzanne Beauchamp, Press Secretary, at (514) 284-3322, ext. 227 or a (514) 932-1265, ext. 7244.
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Media informationLucie BrosseauRideau Hall Press Office(613) 998-0287www.gg.ca
