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| Sunday, 1 August 2004 |
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France's CFI teams up with Rupavahini by Karel Roberts Rathnaweera Canal France International (CFI) and the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC), signed an historic agreement last Wednesday which will have immense benefits for the State TV network while covering cultural and economic areas as well. Signatories to the important agreement were CFI's Director General Jean Mino and SLRC's Director General Nishantha Ranatunga. The signing ceremony was held at the Alliance Francaise,the cultural wing of the French Embassy, in the presence of the Embassy's Deputy Head of Mission Gael de Maisonneuve and the CFI's Director for Partner Relations overlooking the Asia Pacific region Guy Muller and a roomful of media personnel. In his speech,CFI's DG Jean Mino said that the signing marked an important day for the friendly cooperation that has existed between the two countries. Financed by the French government's Telefrance to the tune of Euros 20,000 which was gifted the same day to the SLRC,Mino said that the agreement had two missions,1) the provision of programs free of charge to partner organisations and 2) to carry on partnership and collaborative links in the world. The informative and popular program Bonsoir which is the longest-running English-language TV program, which began telecasting on the ITN channel but is now on the SLRC's Channel Eye,will receive the most sophisticated digital equipment to improve quality of production and facilitate overall program material. Speaking in lighter vein, Jean Mino said that when he was in Sri Lanka in 1984, he fell in love with the famous Sigiriya frescoes which are impossible for him to forget as he has pictures of the fresco ladies in his office. SLRC DG Ranatunge referred to Mino's comments on the frescoes in his brief address to the media in which he said that positive commercial benefits to the SLRC will accrue through the newly-signed agreement. Special training for those SLRC personnel who wish to make use of the new opportunities will also be provided, the DG said. The general idea of the agreement will be to obtain European audio-visual programs,mainly French,including subtitling and/or dubbing rights in local languages, and in offering the SLRC the support required to develop the professionsl skills of its employees. |
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