French-Gabonese artist Owanto uses art to tackle FGM

This week on The Sound Kitchen you'll hear the answer to the question about female genital mutilation. There's “On This Day”, The Sound Kitchen mailbag, lots of good music - and of course, the new quiz question. Just click on the “Audio” arrow above and enjoy! 

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday – here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll hear the winners' names announced and the week's quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you've grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week.

I am busy cooking up special shows with your musical requests, so get them in! Send your musical requests to [email protected]. Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all!

Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts!

In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, rfienglish.com, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts which will leave you hungry for more.

There's Paris Perspective, Africa Calling, Spotlight on France, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We have a bilingual series - an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. And there is the excellent International Report, too.

As you see, sound is still part of the RFI English service!  Keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists.

To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website and click on the three horizontal bars on the top right, choose "Listen to RFI / Podcasts", and you've got 'em! You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone.

To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show. 

Teachers, take note! I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is [email protected]   If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below. 

Another idea for your students: my beloved music teacher from St Edward's University in Austin, Texas, Br Gerald Muller, has been writing books for young adults in his retirement – and they are free! There is a volume of biographies of painters and musicians called Gentle Giants, and an excellent biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. They are also a good way to help you improve your English - that's how I worked on my French, reading books which were meant for young readers – and I guarantee you, it's a good method for improving your language skills. To get Br. Gerald's free books, click here.

RFI Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni ([email protected]) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me ([email protected]) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. N.B.: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload!

And don't forget, there is a Facebook page just for you, the RFI English Clubs. Only members of RFI English Clubs can belong to this group page, so when you apply to join, be sure you include the name of your RFI Club and your membership number. Everyone can look at it, but only members of the group can post on it. If you haven't yet asked to join the group, and you are a member of an independent, officially recognised RFI English Club, go to the Facebook link above and fill out the questionnaire!!!!! (if you do not answer the questions, I click “decline”).

There's a Facebook page for members of the general RFI Listeners Club, too. Just click on the link and fill out the questionnaire, and you can connect with your fellow Club members around the world. Be sure you include your RFI Listeners Club membership number (most of them begin with an A, followed by a number) in the questionnaire, or I will have to click “Decline”, which I don't like to do!

This week's quiz: On 6 November, I asked you a question about female genital mutilation (FGM) - a violent and senseless practice which ruins many young women's lives, and can be fatal. I referred to an article and video RFI English journalist Ollia Horton produced about an installation by Owanto - a French Gabonese artist – and her way of looking at it. Accompanying the artworks were audio testimonies of FGM survivors.

And that was your question. I asked you to tell me the number of countries and the number of languages featured in the audio which accompanies Owanto's paintings.

The answer is: 36 countries, 24 languages. As Ollia wrote: “This collection of audio testimonies collected from FGM survivors from 36 countries, in 24 languages, lifts the women's experiences out of the private sphere and into the public realm.”

The winners are: Mrs. Nadira Begum from the Shetu RFI Listeners Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh, and Anand Mohan Bain, the president of the Paribar Bandhu SWL RFI Club in Bhilai, India.  Also on the list of winners this week: RFI Club members Saleh Likhon from Nilphamari, Bangladesh; Samir Mukhopadhyay from Kolkat, India, and Kiplangat Nathan Sikor from Kampala, Uganda.

Congratulations winners!
Here's the music you heard on this week's programme: Lute Suite in E Major BWV 1006a by J. S. Bach, performed by Evangelina Mascardi; Also sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss, performed by the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Gustavo Dudamel; “The Swan” from The Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saëns, performed by Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; "The St. Vitus Dance" by Horace Silver, performed by the Horace Silver Quintet; and “New June” by Tokunbo Akinro, performed by the composer.  

Do you have a musical request? Send it to [email protected]

This week's question ... You'll have to listen to the show to participate. You have until 13 December to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 18 December podcast. When you enter, be sure you send your postal address in with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Send your answers to:
[email protected]
or
Susan Owensby
RFI – The Sound Kitchen
80, rue Camille Desmoulins
92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux
France
or
By text … You can also send your quiz answers to The Sound Kitchen mobile phone. Dial your country's international access code, or “ + ”, then 33 6 31 12 96 82. Don't forget to include your mailing address in your text – and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

To find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize, click here

To find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or to form your own official RFI Club, click here