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Thirty Francophone and French Immersion students from across Canada gather in Winnipeg for The National Ambassador Youth Forum, organised by French for the Future.

Toronto, 12 February 2009 – 30 high school students from across Canada will meet up in Winnipeg for the National Ambassador Youth Forum, four days of activities, workshops, and cultural events.

An annual event organised by French for the Future, the Forum will take place from February 14th to the 17th this year in association with the Société franco-manitobaine. Many of their workshops will take place on the Collège universitaire Saint-Boniface campus.

The young ambassadors from 20 different Canadian communities—from Vancouver to Halifax, from Whitehorse to Charlottetown—will gather to share their experiences and thoughts as Francophones and students of French as a second language.

Helen Coltrinari, president of French for the Future, explains: “The Forum offers our brightest young leaders the opportunity to gather and get involved in their country’s linguistic future. They share their unique experiences and return home with dynamic new ideas, a broader understanding and, most of all, the motivation to keep up their French and encourage their peers.”

John Ralston Saul, founder and honorary president of French for the Future, will lead a discussion with the ambassadors on February 16th at 9:30am at Collège Saint-Boniface (Salon Sportex room).

The Forum coincides with the Festival du Voyageur and it is in this positive and open environment that the students will participate in workshops and activities focused on the benefits of bilingualism. The participants will learn about their responsibilities as ambassadors and their role in the promotion of linguistic duality. They will also find out about the great advantages of being bilingual with regard to post-secondary education options, the labour market, and daily life.

Rosemarie L.-Arsenault, 2008 ambassador from Fredericton, says: “[The Forum] was a fabulous experience, both socially and educationally! A group of like-minded students who gather with a common cause can produce wonders.”