3rd March 2025
Own Correspondent
Botswana Defence Force(BDF) students received official certificate of French language (called “DELF”) from The Ambassador of France to Botswana, His Excellency Mr Pierre Voillery, and the Director of the Alliance Française de Gaborone, Ms Aurélie Gbeffa, during an award ceremony at the Residence of France in Gaborone.
“The ceremony is about recognizing BDF officers who learnt French with support of French Foreign Ministry,” said Pierre Voillery.
He said, “It is important to invest in human capacity. Botswana allows its best to learn language and get training.”
Voillery believes understanding French will allow graduates to speak to people in other African French speaking countries especially during peace keeping operations. France has 20 French speaking Military academies in Africa and it is believed a proficiency in French will be beneficial.
Lieutenant Colonel Motshereganyi Mike Mogae, said “It is important to learn French because we are a global village. It is always good to know all the languages.”
He said, “It prepares us for all collaborations that come our way like diplomatic engagements and peacekeeping operations.”
