ALFRED – The first edition of Salon Destination rentrée 2001 will take place Feb.15 at Collège d’Alfred of the University of Guelph, according to Jean Dubois, Liaison Officer and event organizer.

This event was created primarily to address two needs: to promote French-language post-secondary education to the student population within the Eastern Ontario region and to showcase the excellent quality of available educational programs. This applies to university as well as the college level, Dubois said.

There are more than a dozen francophone post-secondary institutions which have confirmed their presence at the event. Notably, Cité collégiale, Collège Boréal, Collège des Grands-Lacs, Glendon Campus of York University, University of Ottawa, Laurentian University, Université de Montréal, École des Hautes Études Commerciales, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Université du Québec à Hull, Université Laval, École Polytechnique de Montréal, Université de Montréal and of course, Collège d’Alfred de l’Université de Guelph will be attending. In addition to these educational institutions, the Canadian Forces, Human Resources Development Canada, the Eastern Ontario Health Board, Employment Services Centre of Prescott-Russell as well as the Jeux de la Francophonie will be represented.

Félix Saint-Denis, Development Officer at the FESFO ( Fédération de la jeunesse franco-ontarienne) eill act as honorary president of the event. The FESFO will also be responsible for the cultural activities during the day. When asked what motivated him to be associated with such an event, Saint-Denis said "during the last few forums and annual general meetings, our members (Ontario francophone high-school students) indicated that it was of the utmost importance to create opportunities in which information about French post-secondary programs could be readily gathered. The fair organized by Collège d’Alfred answers that need and they are working towards it becoming an annual event."

The Salon Destination rentrée 2001 will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Thurs., Feb. 15.

Admission is free.