Strategic Cooperation with the French Institute

2026/04/08

On 27 March 2026, the French Institute hosted an event at which Matthieu Berton, Director of the Institute, and Dávid Rózsa, Director General of the national library, ceremonially signed a cooperation agreement between the two institutions. The meeting was also attended by Zoltán Lewalt-Jezierski, Head of the Director General’s Cabinet at NSZL, and Sophie Sellier, Cultural Attaché.

The direct antecedents of the agreement included Matthieu Berton’s visit to NSZL and to the National Library of Foreign Literature (OIK), as well as OIK’s 2025 French literary translation grant scheme and its open day entitled French Language in Focus, held in the autumn.

The timing of the agreement carried symbolic significance, as March is celebrated worldwide as the Month of Francophonie, a festive period for countries and communities connected to the French language and culture. Founded in 1947, the French Institute—one of the capital’s oldest foreign cultural centres—provided the venue for the event in keeping with this tradition. With its diverse activities, a three-level media library holding 30,000 volumes, a 200-seat auditorium, reception and exhibition spaces, and an information unit on studies in France, the Institute serves as an open venue for culture, learning and community engagement.

Within the framework of the cooperation agreement, the parties undertook to maintain regular professional contact: their representatives will meet at least once a year to review exhibition and event projects related to the French language and culture that merit support. They also agreed to mutually support the implementation and promotion of each other’s cultural programmes—particularly book launches and exhibitions—and to exchange publications and documents. The French Institute expressed its intention to contribute French-language publications to enrich the French collection of the National Library of Foreign Literature. The cooperation also extends to the joint organisation of the Month of Francophone Countries (Mois de la Francophonie), the European Day of Languages, and other events promoting the French language and culture.