The Congress of French Culture in Florida (), also referred to as CCFF or simply Le Congrès, is an academic organization that holds competitions annually in

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, to promote literacy in

French culture The culture of France has been shaped by Geography of France, geography, by History of France, historical events, and by foreign and internal forces and groups. France, and in particular Paris, has played an important role as a center of high ...

and

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

among

middle Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek ...

and

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

students. The name also refers to the organizational body that oversees the event and its preparation.

History

Three French instructors from

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

conceived the foundation of the competition in the fall of 1952: Lelia Alexander of Julia E. Landon High School (now Julia Landon College Preparatory and Leadership Development School), Cornelia Burge of Duncan U. Fletcher High School, and Doris McCleary of Andrew Jackson High School. The first competition was held in April of 1953 at the Provençal House of

Rollins College Rollins College is a Liberal arts college, private liberal arts college in Winter Park, Florida. It was founded in November 1885 and has about 30 undergraduate majors and several master's programs. Florida's fourth oldest post-secondary institut ...

and continued to occur annually.

Suzanne Carrell

In 1962, professor Suzanne Carrell facilitated the event's relocation to

Jacksonville University Jacksonville University (JU) is a private university in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Located in the city's Arlington (Jacksonville), Arlington district, the school was founded in 1934 as a two-year college and was known as Jacksonvill ...

where it had remained for several years. A French national, Carrell, was highly praised for her work in strengthening the cultural ties between the United States and France, particularly in the relationship between the

sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is International relations, a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there ar ...

and

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

. In 1980, a scholarship open to participants of the Congrès was established in her name and continues to this day. In recognition of her work, French President

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...

decreed upon her the

French Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

in the competition's fiftieth year (2002). In the competition's sixtieth year (2012), Carrell would also receive the National Order of Merit. Despite having retired in 1989, Carrell continued to chair the organization until her passing in 2019.

After Jacksonville

Today, the competition is principally held in Orlando, Florida.

Purpose

Students from participating middle schools and high schools compete in various challenges designed to test fluency in French as well as knowledge of French culture. These challenges include ''la lecture'' (reading proficiency), ''le discours'' (improvised oration), ''la déclamation'' (poetry recitation), and ''le casse-tête'' (lit. "break-head", a

quiz bowl Quiz bowl (quizbowl, scholars' bowl, scholastic bowl, academic bowl, academic team, academic challenge, etc.) is a family of quiz-based competitions that test players on Outline of academic disciplines, a wide variety of academic subjects. Stand ...

). Separately, students who demonstrate in writing an intent to continue their studies in French (especially in higher education) are allowed to win multiple scholarships, the most notable of which is the ''Bourse Suzanne Carrell''. The organization'
homepage
claims that the event allows students to "meet other enthusiastic Francophiles who inspire one another."

References

External links

* https://www.floridafrenchcongres.org/
"Retired Professor Honored by French Legion of Honor" (Jacksonville University press release)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Congress of French Culture in Florida Recurring events established in 1952 Competitions in the United States Education in Florida Francophonie 1952 establishments in Florida