Balado Franco (RVF) - English edition

Julia is a journalist and content writer, and is currently working for the NCRA/ANREC as a National Support Editor for the Local Journalism Initiative. Her blog, Julia on a Bike, details two recent cross-Canada motorbike trips. Julia was born in France and now lives on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. In the podcast, she speaks about her experience in campus and community radio, journalism, and media relations; what brought her to Canada, and the kindnesses she experienced in her travels.

Rosie works for the Dialogue Network as their VIF Coordinator. She grew up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and now lives in the Greater Ottawa Area. In the podcast, Rosie speaks about the VIF funding program, how being multilingual can help us build empathy, and her love of French rap music.

Eloïse is the executive director of the BC based organization, AFKO. She is originally from Belgium. In the podcast, Eloïse speaks about the importance of being “accent-inclusive”, some upcoming Rendez-vous de la Francophonie events in Nelson, BC, and the many local programs that AFKO offers Francophones and Francophiles in the rural region of the West Kootenay Region.

Christien is from the Windsor, Ontario region and hosts a radio show called On Y Va at CJAM 99.1FM. In the podcast, Christien speaks about his experience at CJAM, his Metis and Francophone family background, and his quest to improve his French as an adult. 

Pat is a composer, teacher and former CBC radio personality. He grew up in the village of St Pierre Jolys in Manitoba and currently lives in Vancouver BC where he is the Director of the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. In the podcast, Pat speaks about his musical background and work, his experience as a Sixties Scooper, and his efforts to learn Michif, the endangered language of the Métis people.

Marie-Ève is a theatre artist and artistic director of the Théâtre Cercle Molière in St. Boniface, Manitoba, which is the city in which she was born. In the podcast, Marie-Ève speaks about her theatre background, the Cercle Molière’s storied one-hundred-year history and its future as a gathering place and a place of fun for the community. 

Mehdi is a singer songwriter and a spokesperson for the Rendez Vous de la Francophonie. Mehdi was born in Algeria and grew up in Montreal, Moncton and Ottawa, the city where he now lives. In the podcast, Mehdi speaks about his love of language, the importance of human connection, and his upcoming cross-Canada tour.

Katherine is a professional basketball player and an Olympian, and she is also a co-spokesperson for the Rendez Vous de la Francophonie. She grew up in Edmonton, and still calls the city home. In the podcast, Katherine speaks about her French-learning journey, what she loves about sport, and about having a heartset of curiosity.

Victoria King is a manager at the Executive Office at The University of Winnipeg Foundation. Victoria talks about growing up in an anglophone family, learning French through her school’s late immersion program, and working and volunteering at CKUW, a campus radio station in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Shelley Robinson is the executive director of National Capital Freenet in Ottawa, Ontario, and the former executive director of the National Campus and Community Radio Association. In this conversation, she speaks about how anglophones can support bilingualism, being a life-long French learner, and her experience working and volunteering in community radio in Canada, Rwanda, and Afghanistan.

Ness Benamran is a manager at Kootenay Career Development Services in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia. In this conversation, Ness talks about his childhood in France, England, and Cyprus, living in Barcelona, Spain, as a young adult, and immigrating to a majority English-speaking region of Canada, where it is sometimes difficult to use his other languages, French, Cypriot Greek, and Spanish.

KL Kivi is an author and activist living in Sinixt tmxʷúlaʔxʷ (homeland) in the Columbia Mountains of British Columbia. KL grew up speaking Estonian and English. They learned French in school and then spent a year in southern France as a young adult. In this conversation, KL speaks of their love of learning and language and how different languages open us up to new perspectives and ideas.

Kallee Lins is the executive director of the West Kootenay Regional Arts Council/Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance. She talks about learning French in school and living and working in the arts in French and English in Montreal and Ottawa.

Francella Fiallos is a Program Officer and Communications Director at the Community Radio Fund of Canada. In this conversation, Francella talks about speaking Spanish and English as a child in Ottawa, her experience of learning French, and her history working and volunteering in community radio in Halifax, Montreal, and Ottawa.

Dr. Claire-Marie Brisson hosts the North American Francophone Podcast and is a Preceptor in French at Harvard University. In this conversation, Claire-Marie talks about growing up in Dearborn, Michigan in a bilingual family, sharing her love of language through teaching and her podcast, some Franco-American history. She also offers insights about her upcoming book, Michiganaise.

Amélie Sauquet-Davidson is the Sponsorship Coordinator at Kootenay Co-op Radio, a community radio station in Nelson, BC. Amélie talks about growing up in France, learning Spanish and English, coming to Quebec, and finally, coming to British Columbia, where she lives and works in English and French.

Interview with Mariette Mulaire, Managing Director World Trade Centers Association.

Interview with Patrick Lac, franco-ontarian independent podcaster.

Interview with Marie-France Guerrette-Dempsey, producer at National Film Board Canada.

Interview with Emmanuel Bilodeau, actor and comedian.

Interview with Andrea Lindsay, singer and songwriter.

Interview with Alex Freedman, Executive director of Community Radio Fund of Canada.