Organization
École Khmère de Paris
The École Khmère de Paris (EKP) is a volunteer-run school in Paris that teaches the Khmer language and shares Khmer culture.[1] It was created by the Association Culturelle Franco-Khmère (ACFK), founded in 1999, and offers Khmer-language courses, workshops, teaching materials and cultural events.[1][2]
History
The ACFK is a nonprofit association under the French law of 1901. Its founding was published in the Journal officiel on October 14, 1999.[1][3] Since 2020 a new team of young Cambodians from France has run it.[2] The association states that its main aim is to create a place where traditional and contemporary Khmer culture is passed on and shared, through language above all, and also through music, architecture and the traditional arts.[2][1]
All of its members are volunteers, and the board handles its administration and accounts in their own time.[1][3] The budget comes mainly from students' course fees and from donations. The ACFK states that it receives no subsidy in France or in Cambodia, and it describes itself as independent, apolitical and secular.[1][3] It also sells teaching materials and other goods, with the proceeds going to its Khmer classes and cultural work.[2]
Courses
Classes meet on Saturdays in Paris through the school year. The school's pages give the year as 25 Saturday classes, from September to June, or as some 30 sessions of about 50 hours per class between October and June.[1][2][3] Volunteer teachers of Khmer origin teach spoken and written Khmer, and members write all of the teaching materials themselves.[1][3]
There are three classes of up to 30 students each. The beginner level teaches reading and writing, from the alphabet, consonants, vowels and subscript letters to a first vocabulary, and it suits learners who speak everyday Cambodian but cannot yet read or write it. The intermediate level works on writing, pronunciation and short sentences. The advanced level, from the third year on, builds vocabulary, reading and writing of simple texts, and pronunciation.[3] The courses are meant for learners of about 12 and older who can take their own notes. The school offers no separate classes for children, no intensive, private or speaking-only courses, and no diplomas; for a university degree in Khmer it points students to INALCO, the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales.[3][1]
The school has worked from a base at the Grande Pagode de Vincennes in the Paris region. As of 2026 its classes met in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, between Olympiades and Porte d'Ivry.[1] For the 2025 to 2026 school year, the classrooms could be reached by stairs or by elevator, including by wheelchair users.[3]
Community
Each year the association holds cultural events, among them talks, museum visits, exhibition openings, premieres and social gatherings.[1] At the Khmer New Year festivities at the Grande Pagode de Vincennes on April 9 and 16, 2023, it ran a stand inside the pagoda grounds with Khmer-language workshops, books and teaching materials, and students on hand to talk about the courses.[4] In 2026 it again had a stand at the festivities, as it had for the previous four years. That year the festivities at Vincennes were organized on April 5 by the Association Bouddhique Khmère of Vatt Khemararam in Créteil, and on April 11 and 12 by the Association Bouddhique Dhammaraingsei of the Bagneux pagoda.[5]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 École Khmère de Paris, home page (2026)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 HelloAsso, Association Culturelle Franco-Khmère
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 École Khmère de Paris, Frequently asked questions (2026)
- ↑ École Khmère de Paris, L'Association (2023)
- ↑ École Khmère de Paris, Khmer New Year 2026 at Vincennes (February 2026)