Lt. Governor Nungesser re-signs accord with New Brunswick at Congrès Mondial Acadien in Novia Scotia
BATON ROUGE, LA (KLFY) -- Representatives from Louisiana are at the Congrès Mondial Acadien in southwest Nova Scotia, where people from all over the world are celebrating the Acadian culture.
This week, Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser, the Council for the Development of French Louisiana and a Louisiana delegation traveled to the region to partake in the celebration at the Congrès Mondial Acadien, or Acadian World Congress.
Nungesser attended the event five years ago and understands the importance of the Acadian heritage to Louisiana.
"We re-signed accords with New Brunswick, which were originally signed in 2022," Nungesser said. "This is important because it is an agreement to share cultural, artistic, and heritage ties between the two regions. One of the many things that makes us unique in Louisiana is the strong French influence," said Nungesser.
This year’s Congrès Mondial included a Louisiana symposium hosted by the Center for Louisiana Studies and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, along with several concerts by Louisiana artists, including Zachary Richard.
Nungesser hosted a breakfast with the Minister of Acadian Affairs and the Chair of Congrès Mondial 2024, a Louisiana Media Luncheon, a meeting with the president of the National Society of Acadia and several events at L’Echange.
The Louisiana delegation represented culture, history, tourism, and academia. Participants included Travel Avoyelles, Lafayette Travel, Louisiana’s Cajun Bayou, St. Martin Parish Tourism, Vermilion Parish Tourist Commission, and Bayou Vermilion District.
In October 2025, Louisiane-Acadie will host Grand Reveil Acadien, or the Great Acadian Awakening, across Acadiana. The event will bring together Acadians from around the world to celebrate their shared culture.
The first Congrès Mondial was in 1994 and is held every five years. Congrès Mondial brings Acadians together for nine days of celebration. The festival celebrates with over a week of family reunions, musical concerts, cultural symposiums, folklife demonstrations and educational events.
From 1755 to 1764, the British forced the Acadian people who lived in present-day Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island from their homes. Ancestors of these Acadian people created Congrès Mondial to remember this expulsion, known as Le Grand Dérangement, or the Great Deportation, and to celebrate the unique culture the Acadians maintain around the world.