As its official website states, “the CIEP is recognised both in France and abroad for its skills with regard to expert evaluation, training, assessment, and management of international projects… A key public operator for the Ministries of Education and Higher Education, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ main operating partner with regard to the French language, it contributes to the reflection on issues related to international cooperation in education.” Its mission includes the promotion of the French language and its teaching and learning, the DELF/DALF official language testing and some others.

During a visit in Taipei in April 2012, Mr Pilhion signed an agreement with the Ministry of Education on cooperation regarding language testing. Taipei’s vibrancy as a city and its expertise in language teaching helped the CIEP decide that Taipei should be the third place, after France and Dakar, for BELC to take place. The Education Division in Paris, the French Bureau in Taipei, and the Association of French Teachers in Taiwan worked together on this project and the successful result was beyond all expectations.

The first session of BELC in Taipei welcomed 45 participants from Taiwan, China, and Hong Kong to 4 modules, each providing 15 hours of rigorous training. Each participant that completes the modules receives a certificate issued by the CIEP, which is valid for the European Credit Transfer System. Following this great success, the CIEP decided that the BELC will be held in Taipei again next year, allowing professionals from Japan, South Korea and Thailand to take part.

During his visit, Mr Pilhion visited the MOE’s Deputy Minister Huang Pi-twan, and also the Alliance Française in Taipei, National Taiwan Normal University’s Center for French Teaching, and the Steering Committee for the Test of Chinese as Foreign Language, which are all involved in many French-language related projects.