French of The Year 2022
In partnership with the French Embassy and the French Consulate General in Sydney, the “Prix des Francais.es en Australie” award is back after its overwhelming success in its inaugural year of 2021.
The Courrier Australien's 'French of the Year 2022' readers' award has 6 categories*:
- Solidarity, sponsored by The Courier Australien Friends, is designed to reward French people who have distinguished themselves in helping others.
- Entrepreneurship, sponsored by Bilateral Solutions, is intended to honour promising craftsmen, creators or business leaders.
- Research and Innovation, sponsored by Pierre Fabre, aims to introduce the general public to French researchers working in Australia as well as entrepreneurs who have developed innovative solutions in their field.
- Sustainability, sponsored by Bouygues Construction Australia, recognises an individual or company's ongoing commitment and outstanding contribution to sustainable development.
- Sport, Art and Culture, sponsored by Yves Hernot, Knight in the DSAP Order of Merit, Laureate of the Paris Academy of Fine Arts, former tennis player. Yves Hernot will distinguish sportsmen, artists or creators for their excellence, devotion and vocation in the field of Sport, Art and Culture.
- The "Special Award for French Women in Australia" of the year sponsored by Champagne Tsarine, rewards women who have distinguished themselves in Australia in terms of their entrepreneurial spirit, creativity, determination or commitment (social, sporting, personal, professional).
For more information on the process & timeline, click here
“French of the Year in Australia”
In partnership with the French Embassy and the French Consulate General in Sydney, Le Courrier Australien organises the “Prix des Francais.es en Australie” an award that aims to honour French citizens whose talents and commitments contribute to French influence throughout Australia.
This is a participatory competition, wherein the readers are the ones who nominate candidates in one of the following categories: “solidarity,” “research and innovation,” “entrepreneurship,” and “sport and culture.”
We were delighted to see the enthusiasm for the nominations phase. The large number of applications and the variety of profiles show that the French are very invested in all fields in Australia. The French community in Australia is full of exceptional talents, but who too often remain anonymous. With this competition, we will be able to give visibility to these people and make them known to the general public in Australia but also in France where we also have many readers.
“This competition is an excellent initiative. I meet a lot of French women and men whose journey in Australia is worthy of admiration. It takes a lot of qualities to be successful abroad, where you don't necessarily have established supports and networks. This is especially true in Australia! So it's a very good thing to put them in the spotlight. I also like the fact that it is the readers who nominate the candidates and vote for them. There is indeed no one way to measure success!", said Anne Boillon, Consule Générale de France à Sydney.
And the French of the Year 2021 are…
The French of the Year was unveiled by the Minister of State for Tourism, French Nationals Abroad and Francophonie, attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne!
The ceremony was opened by our Consule General of France in Australia, Anne Boillon and François Vantomme, the editor-in-chief of Courrier Australien made an announcement on this competition!
Discover all the profile of the 2021 nominates here
* Composition of the Organising Committee:
Ms. Anne Boillon, Consul General of France in Sydney (Sydney) - Ms. Myriam Boisbouvier - Wylie, President of the Bastille Day festival, Melbourne - Ms. Christine Cazeris, President UFE (Western Australia) - Alain Etchegaray, President UFE (Queensland) - Jérôme Fournand , Director General of the FACCI - Ms. Betty Moinet, Director General of "Le Festival Brisbane" - François Vantomme, Director of Courrier Australien