MRIFCE launches its Facebook page! The Ministère des Relations internationales, de la Francophonie et du Commerce extérieur (MRIFCE) now has its own official Facebook page.

Québec takes part in the 35th session of UNESCO´s General Conference The 35th session of UNESCO´s General Conference concluded on October 23. Capping off three weeks of activities, the Conference´s 193 member states set out UNESCO´s strategic goals and action plan, in addition to reviewing and adopting the organization´s 2010-2011 program and budget. During the session, the Conference also ratified the proposal submitted by UNESCO´s Executive Council, which nominated Irina Bokova to succeed Director-General Koichiro Matsuura.

20e anniversaire de la coopération Québec–Rhône-Alpes

Le Québec réitère son engagement dans le projet d’Accord économique et commercial global Canada-UE

International Women’s Day: Québec honoured at UNESCO Québec was given a place of honour during the March 5 celebrations marking International Women’s Day at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. For the event, the President of Québec Native Women Inc., Viviane Michel, and the film director and founder of Wapikoni Mobile, Manon Barbeau, gave a presentation entitled “First Nations’ Women of Québec: Between Art and Activism.”

France follows Québec’s lead in improving health in the workplace The preventive approach developed in Québec over the past several years by the Healthy Enterprises Group (Groupe entreprises en santé) will soon be implemented in France. The goal of the approach is to mobilize and equip work environments to ensure health, well-being and productivity.

Québec wants gazelles! Élaine Zakaïb, Minister for Industrial Policy and the Banque de développement économique du Québec, has launched a call for candidates for the selection of 300 high-performance small and medium-sized businesses, consisting of 100 “gazelles” (high-growth businesses) and 200 promising businesses with a chance of becoming tomorrow’s gazelles.

Québec circus company The 7 Fingers at the Sochi Olympics! Québec circus company Les 7 doigts de la main / The 7 Fingers will stage one of the three presentations featured during the Sochi Olympics opening ceremony on Friday, February 7

Québec-France agreement on mutual recognition of professional qualifications: Over 1,000 permits issued Since the first mutual recognition arrangements were signed between professional orders in Québec and France in 2010, close to 1,100 French candidates have been granted permits to practise their profession in Québec under a Québec-France agreement.

Women parliamentarians adopt a declaration in anticipation of the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration Nearly 80 women parliamentarians – members of networks in La Francophonie, the Americas and the Commonwealth – adopted a declaration in Québec City in anticipation of the 20th anniversary, in 2015, of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. The declaration is a commitment by the parliamentarians to continue their work within their respective parliaments in support of women.

Québec-France Understanding: workers can apply now Québec and French workers in 11 trades can now apply for recognition of their qualifications under the Québec-France Understanding. The announcement was made on January 25 by Premier Jean Charest in the presence of Québec representatives of the professional orders and trades gathered in Montréal.

Spanish company to build silicon metal plant in Québec: 300 new jobs At the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Premier Pauline Marois announced that the world’s number-one producer of silicon metal, Spanish company Grupo FerroAtlántica, plans to build a new plant in Québec. The $375 million project will create over 300 jobs.

CINÉMA DU QUÉBEC À PARIS wins Rayonnement international award of excellence The Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC) was presented with the Rayonnement international award of excellence for Cinéma du Québec à Paris.

L’industrie aérospatiale québécoise brille au rendez-vous mondial de l’aviation d’affaires

Cooperation between France and Québec: the Parentalité Dépendances portal is born Teams at the Centre de réadaptation en dépendance de Montréal – Institut universitaire (CRDM-IU) and the Espace de Concertation et de Liaison Addictions Tabagisme association – Groupement Régional d’Alcoologie et d’Addictologie (ÉCLAT-GRAA) in the Nord Pas de Calais region of France recently unveiled the fruit of all their labour: parentalite-dependances.com.

2013 prizes for best co-supervised theses The Prix de thèse en cotutuelle, which are co-sponsored by the Ministère des Relations internationales, de la Francophonie et du Commerce extérieur and the General Consulate of France in Québec City.

Pauline Marois to host French Prime Minister The Premier of Québec, Pauline Marois, will welcome the Prime Minister of the French Republic, Jean-Marc Ayrault, to Québec on March 14 and 15 for the 17th Alternating Meeting of the Premier of Québec and the Prime Minister of France.

La Francophonie will develop an economic strategy Pauline Marois, the Premier of Québec, welcomes the decision by the heads of state and government to call for the Francophonie to develop an economic strategy that will be tabled at its next Summit in Senegal in 2014. The Premier wanted to underscore her avowed desire to strengthen the francophone economic space by pooling the efforts of all economic players.

Funding from Québec to help women and children in Congo who are victims of violence announced at 14th Francophonie Summit The first day of Québec Premier Pauline Marois’ mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was one of international solidarity and support for women and children, the most marginalized members of society.

Québec and China step up cooperation in science and technology Premier Jean Charest signed a scientific and technological cooperation agreement with the People’s Republic of China, represented by Cao Jianlin, Vice Minister of Science and Technology, on October 27, 2011.