The University gets an eternal gift

Goa University has acquired what is perhaps the largest collection of French books on Quebec region in Canada, thanks to the efforts of a passionate professor from Quebec

| JULY 19, 2019, 02:50 AM IST

JAY JOSHI  


At a time when the world is globalising and seems to be becoming homogeneous, culture holds a tremendous value, and it is the soul of the world, says professor Carlos Bergeron from Quebec, Canada, who has brought a unique cultural gift for the department of French, Goa University. He has given to the University a total of around 2000 French books about the culture and literature of Quebec, a French-speaking province of Canada. 

According to Dr Irene Silveira, in-charge of the department of French at the University, this is perhaps the largest collection of books about Quebec in the whole of Asia.   

This project was a personal venture of professor Bergeron, and took two years to complete, stated the academic. While there are other major universities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Pune etc in India, he chose Goa University to donate this impressive collection of books as the institution is close to his heart, states professor Bergeron. “I had previously visited Goa University as a guest lecture, and was impressed with the work done by the institution in Francophone studies. Also, the warm welcome and cooperation which was extended to me at this university has given it a special place in my heart. Hence, during that visit itself, I decided to collect books about literature and culture of Quebec for Goa University,” elaborates professor Bergeron.   

The collection is comprised of almost 2000 books and 40 films collected from 75 individuals and 21 Quebec publishers. In addition to Goa University, an important partner, since it hosts the collection, the Canadian consulate also helped by subsidizing the transportation of books. The collection is going to be called ‘Espace Quebec’, and is expected to promote French-Canadian studies in a big way.   

“ I received these books, sometimes by the post office, but often I moved to pick them up (in a radius of 300 km). I packed each of the 44 boxes personally, and stored them in my basement. In February, in the middle of a snowstorm, with my colleague Martin Beauseigle, I transported each of the boxes to the College’s warehouse and they were shipped to Goa on February 25. On April 27, after passing through Montreal, Halifax, and Dubai, the collection arrived in Mumbai, India, where it had to again wait for a long time to be picked up and taken to her new home,” adds Professor Bergeron.  

The delay for the books to arrive from Mumbai to Goa was caused partly as the customs officials wanted to ascertain the nature and value of the package, informed Goa University librarian, Dr Gopakumar  

Outlining the practical utility of the endeavour, Dr Irene Silveira, In-charge of the Department of French at Goa University, outlines how studying the language and culture of Francophone countries can help students. “French is a major language in many African countries, as well in parts of Canada, and the Caribbean. Africa is an emerging continent today in terms of business and career opportunities. The people in this part of the world, and in Canada, are passionate about their identity, language, and culture. Similarly, there are European nations such as Belgium, Switzerland where the use of French is significant. Thus, studying French can open the door to many of these countries that are emerging economies,” states Dr Silveira.   

On his part, Professor Bergeron underlines that Indians too hold a special place in his heart. “Indians are generous and welcoming to new influences and ideas. That is why I decided to give this collection to an Indian university,” he states. 

Speaking about Indian influence on Quebec, he informs that there are not many Indians in Quebec though the country’s influence on Canada is quite strong.   

Further on, department in-charge Dr Silveira informed that with measures such as the introduction of a Bachelor’s programme in French, the University is now making efforts to make French and Francophone studies more accessible to the public. “The programme accepts students who do not have any prior knowledge of French and assists them,” informs Dr Silveira   

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