[NOTE : Since March 2007, some denominations have changed : the institution referred to as « Alliance Française de Paris » is now (April 2009) known as « Fondation Alliance Française »; likewise, the annual national contest referred to as « Concours national » in this document is now known as « Prix de l'Alliance Française » and « Rotary Academic Prize ».]

The aim of this protocol, once the missions of the Federation and the Delegation have been outlined, is to define the scope of activities of the two organizations and to define the actions that they should pursue together in order to better respond to the expectations of the Alliances Françaises in the United States. These aims will be achieved with respect to the missions of the Alliance Française de Paris.

Missions:
The primary mission of the Federation is to provide support for its individual member chapters in their efforts to promote French language and francophone culture. It also aims at the improvement of cross-cultural understanding and the strengthening of intercultural communication.

The Delegation represents the Alliance Française de Paris in the United States. It coordinates pedagogical, informational and cultural activities in the American network while maintaining contact with the Cultural Services, the Embassy of France and its Consulates General, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Overall Organization:
The Federation and the Delegation pledge to work together on points relating to the fundamental areas of their common activities. The Federation offers its support to the missions of the Delegation and, upon prior agreement, contributes to its projects. The Delegation, upon prior agreement, endorses activities led by the Federation, contributes to them and participates in its annual convention.

The Federation and Delegation also pledge to share information sent to all of the Federation's Alliance members (for example, working on synchronizing the Federation's questionnaire so that it compliments that of the Alliance Française de Paris). It has been proposed that the President of the Federation be able to participate in the meetings organized by the Delegate General and that the latter be able to participate in the board meetings of the Federation's board of directors. Depending on their needs, the regional meetings can ask for help from the Federation and the Delegation.

Pedagogical Activities
The Federation and the Delegation recognize the need to implement a strategy for the Alliance Française network

• by relying on the dynamism of the Alliance chapters already well established as regional centers of learning, information and culture,
• by helping to grow Alliance chapters in cities where the Alliance is sometimes the only French presence,
• by encouraging the development of Alliances that have been growing rapidly in recent years,
• by encouraging non-teaching Alliances to become teaching Alliances.

To this end, the pedagogical coordinator organizes pedagogical activities, upon prior agreement of the Federation's pedagogical committee and its chairperson. The pedagogical coordinator, working around a national project (AF FRAMES - French American Educational Standards) and implementing the AF Frames quality label, offers activites aimed at professionalizing the teaching of French as a foreign language, at recognizing the Council of Europe's recommendations, at implementing recognized certifications and at promoting the Alliance Française model for French as a Foreign Language instruction to American students.

In addition to this first goal, the search for new clients (the "Alliance enfance" project, partnerships with public schools, groups of young professionals, etc.) and the development of media resource centers (the Merlin project - Media Resources for Language Instruction) also feature among the pedagogical coordinator's priorities.

The Concours National is also part of the Alliance network's dynamic promotion of French.
In order to successfully complete its pedagogical activities, the Delegation works directly with the Alliances and with the Federation and its pedagogical committee.

With this goal in mind, the Delegation contributes to the aid that the Federation has put into place for school development (School Development Grant). The pedagogical coordinator offers his opinion on the proposals submitted by the Alliance chapters and promises to support the accepted projects which fall under his expertise. In the context of school aid, and upon prior agreement by its pedagogical committee, the Federation supports the training missions offered to administrative and teaching staff by the Delegation.

Cultural Activities
The promotion of French and Francophone cultures and cultural exchanges between French-speaking countries and the United States are an integral part of the mission of Alliance Française chapters.

The Federation and the Delegation have complementary programs making cultural offerings available to the network and allowing all chapters to create or add to their annual cultural programming.

The Cultural Season
Every year, the Delegation organizes and invites a series of prominent lecturers to speak on thought-provoking and diverse topics relating to the Sciences and the Arts, as well as to current political and societal questions. These lecturers are selected, as much as possible, to help generate vivid

The Delegation also prepares a selection of artistic programs covering not just music and song, but also theatrical events, dance, storytelling, performances for children, etc. These high-quality productions are selected and presented by theme (jazz, classical music, Francophone voices, theater) over the course of the fall, winter and spring so that Alliance chapters can schedule a well-organized cultural season and improve their visibility by creating new partnerships. The proposed performances are meant to tour nationwide.

A la carte (Cultural Offerings)
On its website, the Federation offers its members a selection of locally recognized lecturers and artists, as recommended by Alliance chapters and the Federation's cultural committee, who are recognized in the fields of art, music, dance and technology and social sciences, among others.

The complementary offerings of the Delegation and Federation, in addition to what is also offered by the Cultural Services, are meant to help turn the Alliance chapters into undeniable centers for cultural and artistic exchange for partnership organizations, including universities, schools, foundations, museums and theaters.

The Federation supports the Delegation's programs in a way that permits a greater number of Alliances to participate in the cultural season, especially those with little means. The Federation's creation of the Cultural Development Grant, which is in the spirit of the School Development Grant, should encourage accessibility to the programs. The Delegation works closely with the Federation's cultural committee, offering advice on its selection (Cultural Offerings) and considering the Federation's suggestions on the lecturers and/or artists to include in the Delegation's selection.

Financial Assistance to the Alliance chapters:
The Federation offers financial support to its Alliance members through grants for specific projects.
The Delegation contributes to funding given to the Alliance network through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Alliance Française de Paris. In addition to the professional expertise made available to the American network (détaché directors and chargés de mission) and to investment grants for real estate projects, the Alliance chapters are also supported with financial aid for specifically identified projects (professionalization of the network, promotion of French, etc.)

The Federation's contribution to the training missions provided by the Delegation and the creation of the Cultural Development Grant will allow us to increase the joint programs offered to Alliance chapters for their schools, teaching and cultural programs. The amount of the Cultural Development Grant will be determined by the Federation with possible participation from the Delegation.

Communication:
Over the past few years, the Federation and the Delegation have developed communication tools adapted to their missions. Both have redesigned their websites so as to make information available to their target audiences.
The Federation now publishes a newsletter, 'Federation Forum', and a magazine, 'Le Magazine.'
In October 2005, the Delegation created an electronic newsletter allowing it to communicate with all of the Alliances Françaises in the United States and with its institutional partners.

In the interest of the network and in order to provide greater visibility and coherence, a common communication strategy has to be established that is based on the synchronization and synergy of the present tools. In this spirit, the Delegation, along with the Federation, is prepared to look into expanding the 'AF en bref' into one common Delegation/Federation electronic letter sent to the whole network.

The principles of cooperation and resource sharing are to be developed with every effort given to promoting the Alliance Française brand and the pedagogical and cultural offerings of the Alliance Française chapters in the United States. The Federation and the Delegation should work together on a nationwide promotional campaign.

March 9, 2007

Carole Crosby Pierre Hudelot

President of the Federation Délégué général