La Francophonie
La Francophonie (formally
l'Organisation internationale de la Francophonie; literally "The Speakers of French"), 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 organisation of French-speaking countries and governments. Forty-nine states and governments are members of the organisation, 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 organisation, 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).
Several of the member states have a poor record when it comes to the protection of
human rights and the practice of democracy. A proposed measure to impose sanctions on such countries was debated at least twice but was not approved. This is not surprising as the purpose of the organisation is not to promote international cooperation or human rights.
The modern Francophonie was created in
1970. Its
motto is
égalité, complémentarité, solidarité (equality, complementarity, and solidarity), harking of
France's
motto. Started as a small club of Northern French-speaking countries, it has since evolved into an important international organisation whose numerous branches cooperate with the organisation's member states in the fields of culture, science, economy, justice, and peace.
L'Organisation internationale de la Francophonie has an observer status at the
UN General Assembly.
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 organisation.
Past Summits:
*
Paris,
France (
1986)
*
Quebec City,
Canada (
1987)
*
Dakar,
Senegal (
1989)
*
Paris,
France (
1991)
*
Mauritius (
1993)
*
Cotonou,
Benin (
1995)
*
Hanoi,
Vietnam (
1997)
*
Moncton,
Canada (
1999)
*
Beirut,
Lebanon (
2002)
*
Ouagadougou,
Burkina Faso (
2004)
The next summit will be held in 2006 in
Bucharest,
Romania.
Ministerial conferences
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.
|
World map of La Francophonie members and participants. In addition to applicable countries, subnational memberships (in Belgium and Canada) are represented. |
|
Francophonie members, and observers including provincial observers. |
The official list of members is available at the
La Francophonie website. By
continent:
Europe
**
**
**
**
**
**
**
**
North and South America
*
**
New Brunswick (participating government)
**
Quebec (participating government)
**
Ontario (observer, but may join in the future)
*
* French dependencies:
**
Martinique**
Guadeloupe**
French Guiana**
St. Pierre-et-MiquelonAfrica
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Asia
*
*
*
Oceania
*
*
*
*
Francophone*
French colonial empire*
Agence de coopération culturelle et technique*
Minister responsible for La Francophonie (Canada)*
Jeux de la Francophonie*
Colonization of Africa*
Cultural diversity*
Education*
Community of Portuguese Language Countries* the
Latin Union*
Commonwealth of Nations*
French in the United States*
Franco-Canadian relations*
La Francophonie Website (in French)
*
Agence intergouvernementale de la Francophonie (in French)
*
Flags of French America (Canada, Québec, Louisiana, Haiti...) in the website of Association Frontenac-Amériques*
News from Francophonie (in French)
