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The Indonesian Embassy in Paris has opened an Indonesian Language for Foreign Speakers (BIPA) class at Institut Universitaire de Technologie (IUT) Le Havre, France. (ANTARA/Personal Documentation/FR) - 

The Indonesian Embassy in Paris, through its Education and Culture Attaché (Atdikbud), has opened an Indonesian Language for Foreign Speakers (BIPA) class at Institut Universitaire de Technologie (IUT) Le Havre, France, an official has informed.

The campus is the fifth to open an Indonesian language class after Inalco Paris, Université La Rochelle, Universite Le Havre, and Université Savoie Mont Blanc.

In a press statement released on Saturday, Paris' Atdikbud Warsito welcomed and lauded IUT Le Havre's leadership for opening the Indonesian language class.

"We (Atdikbud office) have held various programs such as presentations, seminars, competitions, culture weeks, and cooperations with other academics to introduce BIPA," he informed.

"As a result, we thank the IUT Le Havre's leadership for holding the BIPA class for the first time at the start of 2022," he said.

With this class, IUT Le Havre students can get an internship or participate in student exchange programs offered by Indonesian universities, he remarked.

Meanwhile, IUT Le Havre's international cooperation director, Thierry Tabellion, said he expects the Indonesian language class to become a door to opening and strengthening collaboration between IUT Le Havre and Indonesian campuses.

"We expect the Indonesian Embassy in Paris to always fully assist and support this BIPA class," he remarked.

BIPA instructor at IUT Le Havre, Karine Delforge, expressed her gratitude for the opening of the Indonesian language class.

The Indonesian language class will be routinely held annually and will be offered for only one class, she said.

Delforge is among the alumni of the Indonesian Embassy's BIPA class. She said she has been diligently and actively participating in learning activities for two years.

She said she has finished the advanced level BIPA class adding, she was deemed one of BIPA's best participants in 2021.

In 2021, the total number of participants in the Indonesian language class managed by the Indonesian Embassy in Paris reached 290 people, she noted.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the learning activities for the Indonesian language class were conducted in an online format, while during the second semester of 2021, they were conducted in a hybrid format, she added//ANT