Your Excellency, Mr. Lionnet, the French Ambassador to Tanzania
Honorable invited guests
Ladies and Gentlemen:

We rejoice today on the occasion of the opening of the French Resource Center here in Dodoma. The Diocese, in partnership with the French Embassy in Dar es Salaarn, has made possible for the center to be opened today. We appreciate the contribution of the Embassy to the center by providing all the furniture, equipment, computers, audio-video equipment, and a library. On our part the Diocese has allocated three rooms for the center as well as employing personnel for the center. The users of the center will also contribute towards covering utility costs and equipment repairs until the time when the center becomes self-financing.

From the rising of the sun to its descending, Tanzania is graced with French speaking neighbours. We have the Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar, French speaking countries in the East, and Rwanda, Burundi and the Republic of Congo in the west. In order to live peacefully with our neighbours, we have to learn their language as well.

Language is a tool for communication. Learning a language opens a door for encounters with the riches and cultures of people. Since we have the Kiswahili language here in Tanzania that unites us and enables us to communicate with each other, there is no need to learn each others' ethnic languages. The English language is second in importance here in Tanzania and is used for acquiring knowledge - be it science, philosophy or technology, for business and commerce, as well as for political and administrative purposes. With English as a tool of communication,

Tanzanians are able to enter into and share the riches of the wider world and play their part in world politics and governance. As long as one becomes versatile in many languages, he/she is able to enjoy the riches of the world and share his/her ideas with the peoples of the world

This then is one of the reasons for the Diocese to encourage the learning of world languages for the benefit of our children and the coming generations. We would like to see our children given all the opportunities possible for them to learn world languages so as to enable them to participate fully in the wider world. The French language is one of the most esteemed languages of the world. Mastering French opens doors to the wealth of French philosophy and ideas, science and technology, commerce and trade, as well as to cultural exchange. We would like to see our children and people like us push the boundaries of our involvement further to include French speaking countries and people, by having the ability to use the French language.

For this reason, this small resource center is being established to enable all teachers who teach French in our schools to acquire the best resources and methodologies so as to teach French with the best tools available.

All the children in our Regional schools and beyond, together with all interested and motivated people, will have the opportunity to learn the French language and French culture.

For this reason, I would like to invite His Excellency, to address the audience and later open to the center.