Valeria Fayad
Chargée de mission pour les relations internationales
Téléphone : 33(0) 1 53 79 88 23
Malian librarians at the BnF © Béatrice Lucchese / BnF
Profession Culture is a programme that welcomes culture professionals from abroad in France. The programme was set up in 2003 by the Ministry of Culture, making it a priority as an international programme. It is operated by French public cultural institutions under the guidance of the Ministry.
The programme is selective. The call for applicants is held yearly following a calendar set up by the French Ministry of Culture.
Applications for the year 2022 are closed. You can however consult the application conditions in the form below.
The programme is aimed at seasoned professionals working in cultural institutions outside of France in an operational capacity whose projects are related to the collections and services, scientific work, cultural programs, management or development projects of the BnF.
Applicants must propose a strong project based on knowledge and skills exchanges, the outcome of which can contribute to the reinforcement of relations between the BnF and their institutions/countries of origin.
The main elements which are taken into consideration by the BnF are:
Transportation to France is paid for by applicants. It can be funded by their institution or by any other type of support.
The chosen professionals go through a rigorous selection process.
The cultural services of the Embassies of France receive the call for application from the Ministry of Culture and communicate it to relevant institutions. They can collect applications and conduct the first screening process. Alternatively, applications can be sent directly to the BnF, requested by the BnF itself or be transmitted through the Ministry of Culture.
Once at the BnF, applications are transmitted to the International Relations Delegation. The delegation takes into account the context according to the current relations between the BnF and the institution or country of origin. The application forms are then transmitted to the directions and departments likely to welcome the applicants. They then evaluate and formulate an opinion about the proposed project following criteria of interest, availability and skills. All applications are examined by a commission presided by the International Relations Managing Director. After validation by the BnF General Direction, applications are transmitted with due feedback to the Ministry of Culture which is in charge of the final selection process.
Ms Jana FRANKOVA, researcher at the Music Department of the Moravian Library, Czech Republic
M. Jaroslav STANOVSKY, researcher at the Department of Old Prints and Manuscripts of the Moravian Library, Czech Republic
Mr João Marcos CARDOSO, curator in charge of the creation of tools for dissemination and enhancement of the digital library, Biblioteca Brasiliana Guita e José Mindlin, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil
Ms Mbene DIACK, Head of the Collections Management and Development Division at the Administrative and Legal Library, Senegal Archives Department
Ms Boubacar DIALLO, Head of the editing, publication and communication department at the Ahmed Baba Institute in Timbuktu, Mali
Mr Seyed HAKIM, senior researcher for cataloging of Islamic (Arabic and Persian) manuscripts, National library and Archives of Iran
Mr Dhir SARANGI, professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Center for French and Francophone Studies, New Delhi, India
Mr Makhone TOURE, archives curator, head of the Contemporary Archive Division at the Archives nationales of Senegal
Mr João Marcos CARDOSO, curator in charge of the creation of tools for dissemination and enhancement of the digital library, Biblioteca Brasiliana Guita e José Mindlin, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil. (Residency shortened due to the COVID-19 health crisis)
Ms Soňa ŠINCLOVÁ, director of the project management department at the Moravian Library, Czech Republic
Ms Nesrine ABDELMEGUID, Head of the Non-Arab Collection Cataloging Unit at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Egypt
Mr Nabil AWED, Librarian at the Coptic Archaeological Society in Cairo, Egypt
Ms Mbene DIACK, Head of the Collections Management and Development Division at the Administrative and Legal Library, Senegal Archives Department
Ms Boubacar DIALLO, Head of the editing, publication and communication department at the Ahmed Baba Institute in Timbuktu, Mali
Ms Adjarata KONE, Head of the Conservation Office at the National Library of Côte d’Ivoire
Mr Luong Ninh NGUYEN, Digital content creation team leader for the National Library of Vietnam
Mr Achal PANDYA, Director of the preservation department at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), India
Mr Patrick TARDIEU, Curator at the Haitian Library of the Fathers of the Holy Spirit (BHPSE), Haiti
Chargée de mission pour les relations internationales
Téléphone : 33(0) 1 53 79 88 23