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La Francophonie (formally l'Organisation internationale de la Francophonie; in English, "the International Organization of French-speaking Communities"*), a French-language term coined in 1880 by French geographer Onésime Reclus, brother of Elisée Reclus, to designate the community of people and countries using French, is an international organization of French-speaking countries and governments. Fifty-three states and governments are members of the organization, four others are associate members, and ten additional states are invited observers of its Summits. Few of the member states are majority French-speaking aside from France, its overseas possessions and sub-national members. In several other member states French functions as a common language. In several others French has little current presence and the links are mainly historical and cultural. In addition to referring to the international organization, La Francophonie may also be used to reference the worldwide community of those people whose native language or second language is French (i.e., the French Sprachraum). The modern Francophonie was created in 1970. Its motto is égalité, complémentarité, solidarité (equality, complementarity, and solidarity), alluding to France's motto. Started as a small club of Northern French-speaking countries, it has since evolved into an important international organization whose numerous branches cooperate with the organization's member states in the fields of culture, science, economy, justice, and peace. Structure L'Organisation internationale de la Francophonie has an observer status at the UN General Assembly.
Executive Secretariat (Secretaries-general)
Summits Summits of the Francophonie are held every two years, at which time the leaders of the member states have an opportunity to meet and develop strategies and goals for the organization. Past Summits: Permanent council The Permanent Council of the Francophonie consists of Ambassadors of the member countries, and, like the ministers conferences, its main task is to plan future summits and also to supervise the implementation of summit decisions on a day-to-day basis. Intergovernmental agency The Intergovernmental Agency of the Francophonie is the main operator of the cultural, scientific, technical, economic and legal cooperation programs decided at the Summits. The Agency's headquarters are in Paris and it has three regional branches in Libreville, Gabon; Lomé, Togo; and Hanoi, Vietnam. Missions The Charte de la Francophonie defines the role and missions of the organization. The current charter was adopted at Antananarivo, on November 23, 2005. The last summit held at Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on 26-27 November 2004 saw the adoption of a strategic framework for the period 2004-2014. French language, cultural and linguistic diversity The primary mission of the organization is the promotion of the French language as an international language and the promotion of worldwide cultural and linguistic diversity in the era of economic globalization. In this regard, countries that are members of La Francophonie have contributed largely to the adoption by the UNESCO of the (October 20, 2005). Peace, democracy and human rights Similar to organizations such as the Commonwealth of Nations, La Francophonie have in its stated aims the promotion of democracy and human rights. Following the Novembre 3rd 2000 Déclaration de Bamako , La Francophonie has given itself the financial means to attain a number of set objectives in that regard. In recent years, some participating governments, notably the government of Quebec and Canada, pushed for the adoption of a Charter in order for the organization to sanction member States that are known to have poor records when it comes to the protection of human rights and the practice of democracy. Such a measure was debated at least twice but was never approved. Members The official list of members is available at the La Francophonie website. Notes See also | |||||||
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