Global Atlanta - Georgia Tech-French Consulate Partner for ‘France-Atlanta’
The Consulate General of France and the Georgia Institute of Technology are to collaborate once again in presenting “France-Atlanta 2011” from Oct. 27-Nov. 7 in a follow-up to the 2010 program that focused on innovations in science, business, culture and humanitarian initiatives, Consul General Pascal Le Deunff announced during a celebration held in Midtown.
Mr. Le Deunff said that among the projects being contemplated for the program for the 2011 program are a symposium on the latest discoveries in the field of kidney transplants and dialysis, a symposium on writing systems, a workshop of business opportunities in the nuclear energy sector, a contemporary dance performance and a series of presentations to K-12 students to bring awareness of current humanitarian efforts.
During the Feb. 22 event held at the offices of the Alliance Française and the Goethe Zentrum, he thanked a mix of sponsors and presenters for “a successful series of events, which celebrated the 20th anniversary of Georgia-Tech Lorraine and brought some French flair to the city of Atlanta for 10 days.”
Among the successes of the 2010 program, Mr. Le Deunff underscored the preparations for a variety of follow-up events including an upcoming visit to Atlanta this year by the president of the Lorraine region in France, Jean-Pierre Masseret. The Lorraine region, the county of Moselle and the agglomeration of Metz, the capital of Lorraine, have been supporters of the Georgia Tech campus in Lorraine since its founding in 1990.
During France-Atlanta 2010 an agreement was signed between these government offices and Georgia Tech to create the Lafayette Institute on the Georgia-Tech Lorraine campus, which will be a center for the commercialization of new products developed in the optoelectronics sector.
Mr. Le Deunff also announced that the sister cities of Atlanta and Toulouse, France, would cooperate on the study of a variety of common concerns including public transportation, urban development, biotechnologies and medical research, cultural and educational exchanges and cultural diversity in inner cities.
In addition, he spoke of strengthening ties between experts from the French National Research Center and Georgia Tech in the fields of photonics, nanotechnologies, robotics and new materials.
Dialogues also are to continue in France, he said, between American scientists and their French counterparts concerning cancer and cardiologic research. Mr. Le Deunff added that Saint Joseph’s Hospital of Atlanta seeks to establish an exchange program between their researchers and those from the Toulouse medical cluster specializing in the treatment of heart disease.
Several French companies, according to Mr. Le Deunff, learned about business opportunities in the Southeast from France-Atlanta 2010 workshops in the fields of renewable energies, transportation/logistics, medical devices and human resources.
He also cited several of the cultural highlights including the Preljocaj dance performance, the lecture by Centre Pompidou-Metz Director Laurent Le Bon, the concerts by the Toulouse choir Les Elements and the jazz concert with Baptist Trotignon.
City planners also discussed issues surrounding the development of Paris and Atlanta’s BeltLine.
Ties were newly developed, he added, between French and local non-governmental organizations including the Carter Center and between French and Atlanta high schools and cultural organizations.