On 11 and 12 June 2026, the Alliance Française de Port Harcourt took part in the Port Harcourt Tech Expo 2026, in partnership with Art In The Garden City. Within the Creativity & Tech Corner and its VVIP Lounge, the Alliance Française led the virtual reality component of the event, inviting guests to immerse themselves in contemporary French creativity.
Held at the EUI Events Center this edition of the Expo brought together entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, technology professionals and creatives from across Nigeria. The theme, “Syntropy,” was inspired by the concept of constructive synergy, reflecting the belief that collaboration among innovators, investors and institutions can accelerate regional development.
This presentation was made possible thanks to the support of the Institut français, which gave the Alliance Française de Port Harcourt access to three works from its XR Catalogue. This catalogue offers the French cultural network abroad a selection of French virtual and augmented reality creations, with non-commercial screening rights already secured : a resource that allows Alliances Françaises around the world to enrich their cultural programming with contemporary immersive art.
All three works were presented on standalone Meta Quest 3 headsets:
Sous le ciel (Jérémy Griffaud, 2025) — an immersive animated film made of nearly 300 watercolours, a poetic meditation on the interconnection of living things and the cycles of life.
Planet ∞ (Momoko Seto, 2017) — the birth and recomposition of an ecosystem, from an arid world to a teeming aquatic one.
Éternelle Notre-Dame (Excurio / Orange, 2022) — a journey through time at the heart of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, from its medieval construction to its rebirth.
Three stories, three ways of experiencing convergence: that of the living world, that of emergence, and that of reconstruction.
During the event, Director Marina Lacal reflected on the meaning of this participation. For her, the theme “Syntropy” describes something the Alliance Française has been living every day for more than forty years in Port Harcourt.
“Syntropy is about systems coming together to create something greater than the sum of their parts,” she said. That, in her view, is exactly what the Alliance Française does: bringing three missions together under one roof: a language centre, an accredited examination centre, and a cultural centre; each one feeding the others. “Learning a language without culture is just grammar. But through music, film and debate, it comes alive.”
The Director was keen to clarify the institution’s purpose. The French language, she stressed, it is shared by nearly 400 million speakers around the world, from West Africa to the Caribbean. “We create a space where things meet as equals”, a Nigerian musician and a francophone sound, a local artist and a perspective from elsewhere, a debate that matters here and a film made far away asking the very same question.”
Marina Lacal also highlighted the Alliance Française’s role as a platform, welcoming projects in their earliest days and supporting emerging artists, offering them space, equipment and visibility. The partnership with Art In The Garden City is one such example, as was the welcome extended last year to the Females in Gaming Network.
“A Nigerian non-profit, run by Nigerians, present in Port Harcourt for over forty years, the Alliance Française is a house open to everyone,” she concluded. “And when all of these people meet under one roof : learners, artists, dreamers, civil society organisations, and create something none of them could create alone, that has a name. That’s Syntropy.”
This participation is part of the momentum the Alliance Française de Port Harcourt set in motion a year ago around digital creation and virtual reality, already reflected during Novembre Numérique 2025. Once again, the support of the Institut français and its XR Catalogue was central to making this immersive programme possible. As the institution’s first appearance at a technology event of this scale, the Port Harcourt Tech Expo 2026 marks a new step in its commitment to the local creative and technological ecosystem.
