On March 5th the Embassy of Armenia to the United States hosted the opening ceremony of the annual DC Francophonie Festival. The event was attended by Ambassadors and diplomats representing member countries of the International Organization of Francophonie, colleagues from the Department of State, representatives of Alliance Française, Smithsonian Associates and other cultural institutions.

In his opening remarks Ambassador Grigor Hovhannissian highlighted the most remarkable international event of the year – the Summit of the International Organization of La Francophonie, which will convene in Yerevan in October 2018 and will be attended by heads of states and governments of 84 member states of the IOF.

The event featured an award ceremony: this year’s Grand Prix of the Francophonie Festival was presented to the Executive Director of Alliance Française de Washington Ms. Sarah Diligenti for her outstanding service to French education and culture in Washington DC.

The evening’s cultural program showcased classy and virtuoso jazz performances by Levon Mikayelyan’s Jazz Trio and a rendition of traditional Haitian music by Haitian drummer David Balthazar.