Skopje, 31 March 2023 (MIA) – Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani, French Ambassador Cyril Baumgartner and Centar Mayor Goran Gerasimovski planted ten trees in the Parc de la Francophonie in Skopje, an activity that symbolically ended the celebration of Francophonie Month.

FM Osmani said the francophonie serves to bring people together, an organization committed to the mission of dialogue and promotion of universal values, peace, democracy and human rights. The planting of trees affirms another value – environmental protection.

“We live in a world full of conflict. Peace, a value we thought could never be brought into question, has once again been disrupted by the flaming tongues of war, in Europe itself. This motivates us more to come together, and let the act of planting trees be a symbolic message of peace, unity and cooperation we send from the Parc de la Francophonie,” said Osmani.

Ambassador Baumgartner said that human rights, democracy and peace are among the values of the Francophonie, and it is important to stand in their defense.

“In a few years, the trees will grow, and you will become adults, voters, and future leaders. The symbolic planting of new trees builds your European future,” Baumgartner said in his address to the students who attended the event.

Mayor Gerasimovski, who hosted the event, said they remain committed to nurturing the Francophonie through educational events and programs to enrich knowledge in children and increase the use of the French language.

Resident ambassadors of the Organization of the Francophonie member states attended the event, as well as resident honorary consuls of francophone countries, Belgium and Canada, as well as high school pupils studying in French, the French Institute, and school principals. dk/ik/