La Cité des Rocheuses

La Cité des Rocheuses is a non-profit francophone community and cultural centre based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1996 under the legal name La Société du centre scolaire communautaire de Calgary, it legally changed its name in June 2022 to Société la Cité des Rocheuses. Its mission is to be the cultural crossroads and service centre for the francophone community, with a vision of placing La Cité at the heart of francophone life in the region. Its stated values are creativity, collaboration, dynamism, and hospitality, alongside a commitment to diversity and inclusion. The organization promotes cultural enrichment and intercultural, multidisciplinary dialogue in French in Calgary and its surrounding area. It coordinates and presents cultural, artistic, educational, and community events, including film screenings, conferences and seminars, intercultural events, theatre performances, concerts, and festivals, in both French and English. Many francophone artists have performed at La Cité des Rocheuses, such as Ariane Moffatt, Louis-José Houde, Lisa Leblanc, Maxim Martin, Laurent Paquin, Mario Jean, Marianna Mazza, and Zachary Richard. Beyond cultural programming, La Cité des Rocheuses provides settlement services for newcomers. On July 4, 2017, it opened a welcome centre for newcomers and immigrant communities in Calgary. Renamed Portail in 2022, the service was created in collaboration with its anglophone counterpart, Gateway, to avoid duplication of services. Portail helps newcomers assess their needs and directs them to other francophone or anglophone services and organizations. In September 2019, two additional services were added: Pré-départ Alberta, a cross-provincial collaboration to facilitate exchanges among francophone communities in minority situations in the Canadian Prairies, and the AccèsCLIC program, French courses for immigrants in Canada (CLIC, the equivalent of LINC in English), funded by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), which helps participants acquire basic language skills. La Cité des Rocheuses also rents out spaces, including a theatre and a conference room. The theatre is equipped with professional sound and lighting systems and a projector, can accommodate up to 200 people, and is accessible to people with reduced mobility. The conference room is equipped with a smartboard for presentations or online meetings and can host meetings or seminars. The organization operates in a province that is predominantly anglophone but has a significant French-speaking population. According to the 2021 census, more than 80,000 people in Alberta have French as their mother tongue, and more than 260,000 are able to express themselves in French. This population is dispersed within the anglophone majority, and community investment remains relatively limited. The fragmentation of the francophone community into multiple partner but de facto rival associations has weakened the reach of their unifying message. La Cité des Rocheuses positions itself as a gathering place and service hub for this community.

La Cité des Rocheuses was created in 1996 under the legal name La Société du centre scolaire communautaire de Calgary. It was established as a non-profit francophone organization in Calgary, Alberta, to serve the cultural and community needs of the region's French-speaking population. In June 2022, it legally changed its name to Société la Cité des Rocheuses. On July 4, 2017, La Cité des Rocheuses opened a welcome centre for newcomers and immigrant communities in Calgary. This service was later renamed Portail in 2022. It was developed in collaboration with its anglophone counterpart, Gateway, to avoid duplication of services. Portail allows newcomers to obtain an assessment of their needs and to be directed to other services and organizations, whether francophone or anglophone, that can meet those needs. In September 2019, two services were added to the organization's offerings. The first was Pré-départ Alberta, a service for francophone immigrants to Canada (outside Quebec) that is a collaboration between provinces aimed at facilitating exchanges between francophone communities in minority situations in the Canadian Prairies. The second was the AccèsCLIC program, French courses for immigrants in Canada (CLIC, the equivalent of LINC in English), funded by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), which allows participants to acquire basic language skills. Over the years, La Cité des Rocheuses has hosted numerous francophone artists, including Ariane Moffatt, Louis-José Houde, Lisa Leblanc, Maxim Martin, Laurent Paquin, Mario Jean, Marianna Mazza, and Zachary Richard. It has also received government support, such as an investment from the Government of Canada announced by Canadian Heritage on June 22, 2010. The organization continues to operate as a cultural and community hub, offering event spaces such as a theatre with professional equipment that can seat up to 200 people, and a conference room with a smartboard. It remains dedicated to promoting cultural enrichment and intercultural dialogue in French in Calgary and the surrounding region.

• 2022

  Legally changed name to Société la Cité des Rocheuses in June; newcomer service renamed Portail.

• 2019

  Added Pré-départ Alberta and AccèsCLIC services in September.

• 2017

  Opened a welcome centre for newcomers on July 4.

• 2010

  Government of Canada investment announced by Canadian Heritage on June 22.

• 1996

  Founded as La Société du centre scolaire communautaire de Calgary.

A francophone cultural crossroads and community service centre in Calgary, promoting French-language arts and supporting newcomers.

• Théâtre de la Cité des Rocheuses

  A theatre with professional sound and lighting systems and a projector, seating up to 200 people, accessible to people with reduced mobility.

• Portail

  Settlement service for newcomers, offering needs assessment and referrals to francophone or anglophone services.

• AccèsCLIC

  French courses for immigrants in Canada (CLIC, equivalent of LINC), funded by IRCC.

• Pré-départ Alberta

  A cross-provincial collaboration to facilitate exchanges between francophone communities in minority situations in the Canadian Prairies.

1. 1La Cité des Rocheuses – Centre communautaire et culturel francophonecitedesrocheuses.com
2. 2Services aux nouveaux arrivants - La Cité des Rocheusescitedesrocheuses.com
3. 3À propos - La Cité des Rocheusescitedesrocheuses.com
4. 4La Cité des Rocheuses - Wikidatawikidata.org
5. 5La Cité des Rocheuses - Wikipédiafr.wikipedia.org