Celebrating World French Language Day

World French language day

With around 300 million speakers spread across all world regions, French is the fifth most spoken language globally.

On 20 March 1970 the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie was founded to promote the French language. This moment has been remembered ever since as World French Language day.

Sharing multilingual resources through the #MSResourceHub

The MS Resource Hub is a great source of MS information in French, with 45 French resources ranging across twelve different topics. Most recently, Le Fondation pour l’Aide à la Recherche sur la Sclérose En Plaques (ARSEP) contributed a wide range of resources to the Hub. From their resource on Invisible symptoms of MS, to a booklet on caregiving and a practical advice booklet on Physical activity for people with MS.

The great effort from MSIF’s member organisations in sharing these resources through the Hub has helped to make information in French and other languages more accessible to the global MS movement. If you are from an MSIF member organisation and would like to contribute to the hub, you can submit details of your resources here.

On the Hub you can find written publications, videos and graphics in French, Arabic, Spanish and 30 other languages. The Hub includes a range of topics, from pediatric MS, relationships, families and caregivers, mental health and MS symptoms. Take a look at the Hub to see what’s there for you.

Translating and collaborating through the #MSResourceHub

Resources published by eight different MS organisations are available on the Hub in French, thanks to translations and collaborations between MSIF members.

One fantastic demonstration of international collaboration is the Kids Get MS Too video, published by the National MS Society and translated into French, German and Italian by Schweizerische Multiple Sklerose Gesellschaft (Switzerland).

The MS Resource Hub features high quality information resources in 32 languages. One of the purposes of the Hub is to allow MS organisations to see what is available across the MSIF movement, and consider what they may want to translate. If you are from an MS organisation and wish to translate a resource on the Hub to make it accessible in your language, do not hesitate to get in touch.

Raising awareness of MS through French tools

Make the most of World MS Day with the free #MSConnections toolkit, available in five languages including French. Anyone can use and adapt these tools, to raise awareness and create positive change in the lives of people affected by MS around the world. Use the #WorldMSDay toolkit materials to advocate for change across the French-speaking world and shine a spotlight on MS among French speakers. Explore the tools here: https://worldmsday.org/fr/outils/