An Experience in the French Embassy of Australia

Étudiants

Sarah Hibbins is a fourth year linguistics student at the Australian National University. This year she was selected to participate in a three-day ‘embassy takeover’ at the Embassy of France through the Girls Run the World initiative which empowers young women to engage with careers in diplomacy.

You can read about her testimony in the Embassy below, and be inspired to take part next year!

During my time with the program, I’ve had the opportunity to learn from people across a number of teams here at the embassy. For me, a fascinating aspect of France’s diplomatic missions abroad is their emphasis on disseminating French cultural life and promoting the study of the French language as opposed to having a strictly economic or consular function. For example, the ‘Service de Coopération et d’Action culturelle’ (SCAC) division employs ten people to facilitate French-Australian cooperation in higher education, teacher training, scientific research, humanities, and the arts. Coming from a non-international relations background, the program has been an invaluable opportunity to learn about some of the fundamentals of diplomacy, particularly this projection of 'soft power’ as a tool to improve a country’s profile abroad.

This experience has been especially rewarding for me as a lifelong francophile, but for other young people who are interested in the French language and culture, there are a number of ways to engage with France beyond just visiting the embassy.

I’ve personally had the pleasure of volunteering behind-the-scenes at the embassy-assisted Alliance Française French Film Festival which is hosted annually in March and April in more than a dozen cities and towns across Australia. What better way to experience French art than on the big screen? Make sure to keep your eyes peeled for opening and closing nights and special events where drinks and canapés à la française are offered up along with speeches from special guests.

And if after all that, you want to learn French or take your skills to the next level, be that to pursue a career in diplomacy or just watch your favourite Netflix originals without subtitles, I can’t recommend the classes at the Alliance Française enough. Having taken classes there myself over the years, I improved my skills to the point where I could study abroad for a semester in Montreal, Canada, and my language skills definitely played a role in my selection to participate in Girls Run the World.

So to any young people reading this, and particularly young women, the world is your oyster, so what are you waiting for?