French President Emmanuel Macron and his Gabonese counterpart, Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, inaugurated the French Institute of Gabon (IFG) in Libreville on Monday. The institute has undergone extensive modernization to become a leading cultural, educational, and creative centre.
On an official visit to the Gabonese capital, President Macron, accompanied by President Nguema, inaugurated the fully renovated French Institute of Gabon (IFG) on Monday, according to APA.
The modernized facility now includes renovated multimedia rooms, a redesigned media library, and a state-of-the-art auditorium, with the aim of making the IFG a space for creation, innovation, and training for artists, students, and researchers.
The two presidents toured the various spaces, beginning with the fashion and raffia workshop where designer Chouchou Lazare presented his work, accompanied by a talk from anthropologist Hermann Moussoudou on the symbolism of raffia.
At the Campus France area, they spoke with researchers, including Marie-Josée Angue Zogho and Dr. Geoffroy de Saulieu (IRD), about the latest developments in Gabonese archaeology, before meeting with individuals involved in sports and gender equality, such as Princess Apinda and former international basketball player Géraldine Robert.
The visit concluded at Galerie M with the “Disfigured” exhibition, and then in the auditorium where four Gabonese B-boys presented demonstrations of breakdancing and N’Tcham, coordinated by Ekomo Bikoro Jean Hussein.
This is the first major renovation of the IFG in several years, in a context of renewed cultural and educational cooperation between France and Gabon.
DM/ac/Sf/fss/gik/APA