Since 1985, the ISFAR organization (Institute for the Study of French-Australian Relations), has been studying and researching various fields of historical and contemporary relations between the two countries, such as science and technology or humanities.
It organizes many scholarly, educational and cultural events that address a plurality of themes, highlighting the varied interests of its members regarding the French-Australian relations. Their research is shared in the ISFAR review, The French Australian Review, which appears twice a year.
In 2022, ISFAR held a seminar on ‘After the Elections, is a Reset in French-Australian Relations Possible?‘ and organised the launch of Alexis Bergantz’s book, French Connection: Australia’s Cosmopolitan Ambitions. The institute will hold a symposium in a few days, on the 13th and 14th of April 2023, on the theme ‘New perspectives in French-Australian studies‘, during which many conferences will occur online.
At the 2023 General Assembly, were reelected as President, Kerry Mullan, professor of French at RMIT, and as Vice-President, Véronique Duché, professor of French at the University of Melbourne Congratulations to both!
The Committee also wishes to acknowledge the passing of two valuable members of ISFAR since the last Annual General meeting. First of all, the founder and former president of ISFAR, Professor Colin Nettelbeck, left us on October 21, 2022, and more recently, the longstading member of the organization, Jacques de Saint-Ferjeux, passed away on February 23 of this year. Both have been members of the committee since its inception and have contributed greatly to the discussions through their wisdom and experience. As a result, their attendance will be greatly missed and will be greatly missed at future committee meetings.
You can get more information and become a member of the association here.
Members receive the ‘French Australian Review’ and are informed of events organized by ISFAR and partner associations.