A Particular Year
It has been just over a year since I arrived in Delhi.
When I was finally able to go to the Alliance, after two weeks quarantine, and meet the staff who worked there for the very first time I found that though these were people who had suffered or were still suffering from the effects of the first wave, they were above all people who were keen to continue their work within this beautiful institution, even if it meant that they had to work under circumstances that were still difficult.
The teaching staff had been able to adapt very quickly to ensure continuity in the teaching of French, shifting from a 100% face-to-face model to a 100% online system almost overnight. And in the months that followed, I observed that the teachers had not only become experts in video conferencing, but had even transformed this technological and pedagogical challenge into an opportunity, by jointly creating new ways of interacting with their students.
And when we were hit by the second wave, which was even more terrible than the first, the teaching team was more than ready to face this new challenge.
I would like to acknowledge my grateful thanks to them here.
But even the best team of teachers cannot operate efficiently without the logistical support provided by the expertise of the administrative staff, the real backbone of the Alliance française.
Every member of this administrative team adapted to this extraordinary situation: while some had to make room at home to install a laptop, others had to deal with children who often did not understand why mum and dad, even though they no longer went to the office, could not play with them because some people on the screen were discussing incomprehensible things.
The results however were well worth the effort put in by the staff: the Alliance has been able to not only continue its main task of teaching French to thousands of students, but also that of translating hundreds of official documents, lending books and even offering cultural events online.
As in all difficult situations, strategic choices have to be made. In the long term, the Alliance’s desire is obviously to serve students from across the entire National Capital Region, both through online and face-to-face classes. However, we have had to make a tactical retreat by temporarily abandoning the Noida and Gurgaon Centres. As soon as the situation allows, we will all collectively examine the possibility of resuming our operations in these cities, or even in others.
Alongside the men and women who work every day at the Alliance, there are also those who have chosen to work as volunteers on the Governing Body (elected in March 2021): I would like to sincerely thank each and every one of the members of the old and the new teams for their time, their expertise, their vision, and especially for their continued support during this past year.
Several challenges await us. Firstly, in addition to continuously improving the quality of our online classes, we must also prepare for the reopening of face-to-face classes, and perhaps think of new teaching methods in light of the new learning habits acquired by students in recent months.
Then, we must encourage the public to return to the cultural events at the Alliance, by ensuring that all health precautions are taken by our teams at the events. And while on the subject of culture, the Alliance française is preparing to participate in the fourth edition of the Bonjour India Festival which will take place early next year.
Our beautiful building is coming of age and turning 18, and to commemorate this milestone, we will give it a general facelift, which includes some important maintenance work.
I would like to conclude this “bilan” of 2021 with a special tribute to an employee who left us: Rajeev Tamang worked in the Alliance’s media library for more than eighteen years. He was a colleague appreciated by one and all, ever ready to help, and who always had a smile on his face. He will be deeply missed by all of us.