France creates new institute to promote French culture abroad

France has created a new public institute to better promote French culture across the world, according to a statement seen Friday on the French government' website.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, Culture Minister Frederic Mitterand and Xavier Darcos, head of the new organization, have jointly presented the new cultural institute on July 21, when French parliament approved the establishment.

According the statement, the new agency called French Institute will take over the role played by French Cultural Centers existing across the world. The difference is that the new institutes will be public institutes under the Foreign Ministry.

Unlike French Cultural Centers, which was operated by the Culture Ministry, French Institutes can enjoy private fund with a private accounting; besides, it can also raise money from the European Union and international organizations.

The mission of the institutes is to promote French art and culture aboard as well as providing platforms to welcome foreign culture via "season" events. Supporting the cultural development of developing countries is also one task, the ministry noted.

Nowadays, "the role of a country in the world is also measured by the 'soft power of its ideas, its creation, its images,'" the statement said.

Source: Xinhua