The Governor Beto Richa met the Minister of International Relations and La Francophonie of Quebec, Christine St-Pierre this Thursday (24) in Montreal, Canada. Richa ratified the agreement of cooperation with the province. The proposal seeks a partnership in audiovisual area and French teaching in Paraná. The Consul-General of Brazil, Ambassador Rubens Gama accompanied the meeting. The focus is on the program ’Paraná Speaks Languages’, established in seven state universities to support internationalization in higher education institutions. „It is an essential development for the whole academic sphere, helping professors, students and trainers likewise”, says Richa. The program started in 2014 and offers already English courses at state universities. Thanks to the new agreement, the initiative will be extended, launching the new program ’Paraná Speaks French’, supported by the Language Institution of Canada. In September, representatives of both governments will plan the exact activities to be developed in the French area. Paraná has already a partnership with two Canadian organisms for language studies. One called Language Institution, an association of the linguistic education sector in Canada representing the two official languages of the country (French and English). The other organism called Smart English is connected to the Pedagogy Department of Canadian College of English Language. Smart English works with technological solutions for English teaching in 40 countries. Until now, each of the seven universities of Paraná received nine classes due to the program ’Paraná Speaks Languages’. In the first half of the course of a period of 22 months with 25 students/class runs for professors and students involved in graduate and postgraduate studies, such as all academic workers. The second part of the course starts this week, with the same number per class. More information: http://www.aen.pr.gov.br/modules/noticias/article.php?storyid=95189&tit=Parana-e-Quebec-reforcam-parceria-com-foco-no-ensino-de-idiomas