We are pleased to announce the winners of our 2019 French & Francophone Culture High School Essay Contest and Middle School Visual Art Contest, whose mission is to encourage high school and middle school students from the metro Atlanta area to learn more about the French and Francophone cultures. Their entries were thoughtful, inspiring, and elaborated. Congratulations!
High School Winners are:
– Dante Christian (Douglas County High School, 11th grade) who wrote the essay “Light in a World “Noir”. In his essay he shows the impact of Laurent Fabius’ life who was a French politician. The AFATL panel was impressed by his essay that clearly shows that a great politician can influence young people across the world to do good around the world, in his case for the environment.
– Emma Witek (Druid Hills High School, 9th grade) wrote her article about Joan of Arc. She outlined in her essay that this person of Medieval Times can still be a role model for young teenagers across the world for fighting in what you believe. Emma even highlighted her means of raising her voice in the present world.
Middle School Winners are:
– Gargi Telang (Dodgen Middle School) convinced the AFATL panel with “The power of the needle”. It was her creative collage of a sewing machine and her understanding to change a life with little objects or little doings that made her win the contest.
– Simon Beltran (Dodgen Middle School, 8th grade) was inspired by Jules Verne, a visionary when it comes to exploring the unknown. His drawing was a wonderful reflection on Jules Verne’s works and doings. Simon showed in a world of advanced technology that there is still enough space for visionaries.
This year’s contest question gave high school students an opportunity to craft essays expressing their knowledge of a notable French or Francophone figure and illustrating how this figure influenced their lives; and gave middle school students the opportunity to create visual art pieces reflecting their chosen figure.
The contest is in English and open to all students- it is not limited to those taking French as a foreign language. It is intended to reach out to everyone, especially students in art, music, world history, fashion, literature, environmental science, hospitality and other classes learning about French & Francophone cultures.
The 2019-2020 school year is the second year this contest is offered, however, for the first time this year it was opened to the entire Metro Atlanta Area. We received 46 submissions in total: 26 High School students and 20 Middle School. The Alliance Française thanks all the wonderful French teachers who have promoted this contest and supported their students. An additional “merci” goes out to all 46 students who put so much effort and thought into their wonderful work.
Congratulations to all students who participated!
