On March 18^th 2010, the Department of French at the University celebrated the fourteenth anniversary of the International Organization of the Francophonie. President Assistant for Strategic and International Affairs, Ms. Chantal Juge, Attache for French Cooperation at the French Consulate General in Jerusalem on behalf of Mr. Benoit Tadie Attache for University and Culture Cooperation, Dr. Khalil Odeh, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, and others attended the celebration.

"Francophonie is not a language, neither is a culture, it is a way of life, and a system that we expose our students to, and teach ourselves of the different successful stories. It is indeed a charismatic approach of Diplomats, Academics, Politicians and others who succeeded in introducing a valuable culture and tolerance while paying attention to the vital needs of the communities where they are present, particularly where French is not the mother tongue, and where it is mostly challenged by other languages mainly English". University President Assistant for Strategic and International Affairs explained.

"We are proud at An-Najah to have a French Department, we are also proud to have tens of Francophone graduates who not only graduated from France and other French speaking countries, but who are also at high academic and administrative levels at the Institution" University President Assistant for Strategic and International Affairs expressed.

On behalf of the French General Consul Mr. Frédéric Desagneaux and Mr. Benoit Tadie, Ms. Juge thanked the University for organizing this celebration and emphasized on the close relationships between the French Consulate and the University. She also explained that Francophonie does not only mean speaking French, but it also mean to exchange ideas, cultural values, and support cooperation in order to enhance French teaching and learning.

Dr. Khalil Odeh, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, said in his speech that such celebration is an opportunity to promote communication with other countries like France. Dr. Wassim Bishawi, Head of the French Department at the University, spoke about the Organization of Francophonie and that it hosts more than 70 countries and approximately 200 million French speaking individuals including the students of French at the University. Dr. Bishawi thanked the bodies who made this event a success, especially the University Administration, the French Cultural Center and the French Consulate General.

The celebration was concluded by distributing certificates and prizes among the students who participated in the event.