Thank you.
Good morning, Mr. Chair and members of the committee.
I'll begin with an overview of what our organization does, and then, I'll pass the baton to Frédette Fortin, who will share with you our recommendations.
French for the Future is a national organization that promotes linguistic duality and the benefits of bilingualism to students from grades 7 to 12. French for the Future offers six different programs that provide fun and captivating opportunities for young people in both official language communities to connect, speak French and use French in daily life outside the school setting.
In carrying out its mission, French for the Future adheres to an ambitious strategic plan for 2019-23, entitled Ma passion. En français. To help raise retention and success rates among students learning French as a second language, French for the Future offers programs tailored to young people at key moments in their identity-building journey as they progress through school.
Every year, French for the Future connects with more than 50,000 students. We partner with a number of francophone organizations in minority communities who share our vision and desire to make Canada a place where all young people value francophone culture.
By participating in our programs, young people get to have meaningful life experiences and build strong interpersonal networks from which they can draw support at times of critical transition, to promote the choice to pursue studies in French. Our programs reinforce the benefits of French in the daily lives of youth by addressing their personal interests, maturity level and age.
Our organization works with 12 post-secondary institutions. They share our belief that French-language minority education and French as a second language studies are complementary factors that fuel and promote Canada's linguistic duality. Thanks to these invaluable partnerships, French for the Future is able to offer students more than $267,000 in scholarships every year.
Through our programs, then, we encourage students to think seriously about pursuing post-secondary studies wholly or partially in French, thereby enabling them to build on and strengthen their language skills. In this way, French for the Future is helping to build a society in Canada where more and more young professionals value their knowledge of both official languages and have the confidence to use their skills.