Francophonie

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Organisation internationale de la Francophonie
Motto
"Égalité, Complémentarité, Solidarité"
("Equality, Complementarity, Solidarity"),[1]
alluding to France's motto
Members and participants of the Francophonie. In addition to countries, Belgian and Canadian subdivisional memberships are also represented.
Headquarters Paris, France
Official languages French
Membership 56 member states
3 associate members
14 observers
Leaders
 -  Executive Secretary Abdou Diouf
Establishment 1970

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La Francophonie, or the Francophonie, is an international organization of polities and governments with French as the mother or customary language, wherein a significant proportion of people are francophones (French speakers) or where there is a notable affiliation with the French language or culture.

Formally known as the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) or the International Organization of the Francophonie,[2] the organization comprises 56 member states and governments, 3 associate members, and 14 observers. Francophonie may also refer, particularly in French, to the global community of French-speaking peoples,[3] comprising a network of private and public organizations promoting special ties among all Francophones.[4] The prerequisite for admission to the Francophonie is not the degree of French usage in the member countries, but a prevalent presence of French culture and language in the member country's identity, usually stemming from France's colonial ambitions with other nations in its history. Few of the member states are majority French-speaking, aside from France and its overseas possessions.

French geographer Onésime Reclus, brother of Élisée Reclus, coined the word Francophonie in 1880 to refer to the community of people and countries using the French language. Francophonie was then coined a second time by Léopold Sédar Senghor, founder of the Négritude movement, in the review Esprit in 1962, who assimilated it into Humanism.[5][6]

The modern organization was created in 1970. Its motto is égalité, complémentarité, solidarité ("equality, complementarity, and solidarity"),[7] alluding to France's motto. Started as a small club of northern French-speaking countries, the Francophonie has since evolved into a global organization whose numerous branches cooperate with its member states in the fields of culture, science, economy, justice, and peace.

The Francophonie could be considered a French version of the Commonwealth of Nations.

Contents

[edit] Structure

For the official structure, see the flow chart given on the OIF website: http://www.francophonie.org/doc/txt-reference/organigramme_2007.pdf

The Francophonie has an observer status at the UN General Assembly. It has been renamed a few times since its founding:

  • 20 March 1970: Agency for Cultural and Technical Co-operation (ACCT) (Agence de coopération culturelle et technique).
    March 20 is now commemorated by the organization itself as the International Day of the Francophonie (Journée internationale de la Francophonie), also informally known as "The Celebration of the Francophonie"(la fête de la Francophonie).
  • 4 December 1995: Intergovernmental Agency of the Francophonie (Agence intergouvernementale de la Francophonie)
  • December 1998: International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF) (Organisation internationale de la Francophonie)

[edit] Executive Secretariat (Secretaries-general)

[edit] Summits

Summits of the Francophonie (often referred by the English media as the "Francophone Summit")[8] 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:

[edit] Ministerial conferences

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Missions

The Charte de la Francophonie defines the role and missions of the organization. The current charter was adopted in Antananarivo, on November 23, 2005. The summit held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on 26-27 November 2004 saw the adoption of a strategic framework for the period 2004-2014.

[edit] 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 globalisation. In this regard, countries that are members of the Francophonie have contributed largely to the adoption by the UNESCO of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (October 20, 2005).

[edit] Peace, democracy and human rights

Similar to organization such as the Commonwealth of Nations, the Francophonie has as its stated aims the promotion of democracy and human rights. Following the November 3rd 2000 Déclaration de Bamako [9], the 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 governments 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.

[edit] Members

The official list of members is available at the Francophonie website.

Mauritania's membership was suspended on August 26, 2008, pending democratic elections, after a military coup.[10]

Country Status Year joined Official language Notes
 Albania member 1999 Albanian approximately 30% of young Albanians choose French as their first foreign language[11]
 Andorra member 2004 Catalan President of France is co-Prince of Andorra
 Belgium member 1970 officially trilingual, French included French is the native language of about 40% of the population. [12]. Belgium's French community is also a member separately.
* Flag of Wallonia French Community of Belgium member 1980 French official language a community of Belgium with its two components Wallonia (excepting the German speaking Community and Brussels-Capital Region [its French-Speaking majority])
 Benin member 1970 French former French colony
 Bulgaria member 1993 Bulgarian French is spoken by 9% as additional language
 Burkina Faso member 1970 French former French colony
 Burundi member 1970 French former Belgian UN-protectorate
 Cambodia member 1993 Khmer former French colony
 Cameroon member 1991 officially bilingual, French included over 90% of country was a French colony
 Canada member 1970 Officially bilingual, French included the provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick are participating governments; much of Quebec, Ontario and the Maritimes formed part of former French Colonies (as part of New France and Acadia). As of 2004, a government representative from Ontario also attends as part of the Canadian delegation, although Ontario is not yet a participating government in its own right.
*  New Brunswick participating government 1977 officially bilingual, French included province of Canada; former French colony Acadia.
*  Quebec participating government 1971 French province of Canada; former French colony New France.
 Cape Verde member 1996 Portuguese Former Portuguese colony with many neighboring French-speaking countries.
 Central African Republic member 1973 officially bilingual, French included former French colony
 Chad member 1970 French former French colony
 Comoros member 1977 officially trilingual, French included former French colony
 Democratic Republic of the Congo member 1977 French former Belgian colony
 Republic of the Congo member 1981 French former French colony
 Côte d'Ivoire member 1970 French former French colony
 Djibouti member 1977 officially bilingual, French included former French colony
 Dominica member 1979 English French and then British colony; Antillean Creole, a French-based creole language, is spoken by 90% of the population.
 Egypt member 1983 Arabic traditional Francophone elite
 Equatorial Guinea member 1989 officially bilingual, French included Former Spanish colony surrounded by French-speaking countries; member of the CFA.
 Republic of Macedonia member 2001 Macedonian French is taught as a second language in many Macedonian schools throughout the country.
 France member 1970 French
 Gabon member 1970 French former French colony
 Greece member 2004 Greek French is understood and spoken by 8% of the population
 Guinea member 1981 French former French colony
 Guinea-Bissau member 1979 Portuguese country surrounded by French-speaking countries. Former Portuguese colony
 Haiti member 1970 officially bilingual, French included former French colony
 Laos member 1991 Lao former French colony
 Lebanon member 1973 Arabic; French is an administrative language Under a French mandate from 1920-1943, French language used in schools and universities, and is understood by the majority of the population.
 Luxembourg member 1970 Officially trilingual, French included
 Madagascar member 1970-1977
1989		 officially trilingual, French included former French colony
 Mali member 1970 French former French colony
 Mauritania member 1980 Arabic former French colony, French is an administrative language
 Mauritius member 1970 English; Creole is the mother tongue of the general population. Dutch, French, and then British colony; French is widely used by the media.
 Moldova member 1996 Romanian close ties with Romania
 Monaco member 1970 French former French protectorate
 Morocco member 1981 Arabic former French protectorate; French is commonly used
 Niger member 1970 French former French colony
 Romania member 1993 Romanian French is understood and spoken by 24% of the population [2]. Historic cultural ties with France, especially during the late 19th century and early 20th century.
 Rwanda member 1970 officially trilingual, French included former Belgian UN-protectorate
 Saint Lucia member 1981 English Former French and British colony. Antillean Creole, a French-based creole language, is spoken by 90% of the population.
 São Tomé and Príncipe member 1999 Portuguese Former Portuguese colony, neighboring French-speaking countries.
 Senegal member 1970 French former French colony
 Seychelles member 1976 officially trilingual, French included former French colony (first empire), later British colony, French is commonly used
 Switzerland member 1996 Officially quadrilingual, French included French is the native language of about 20% of all Swiss.
 Togo member 1970 French former French colony
 Tunisia member 1970 Arabic former French protectorate; French is commonly used
 Vanuatu member 1979 officially trilingual former French and British condominium
 Vietnam member 1970 Vietnamese former French colony
 Cyprus associate member 2006 Greek,Turkish French is understood and spoken by 12% of the population; Historical ties through the Lusignan rule of the Kingdom of Cyprus during the Middle Ages.
 Ghana associate member 2006 English country surrounded by French-speaking countries

[edit] Observers

Country Year joined Language Notes
 Austria 2004 German French is spoken by 10% as additional language.
 Croatia 2004 Croatian French is understood and spoken by 4% of the population, and the county was the Illyrian Provinces during Napoleonic rule from 1809 to 1813.
 Czech Republic 1999 Czech French is understood and spoken by 2% of the population.
 Georgia 2004 Georgian Like Armenia, Georgia had a connection with the French kingdoms in the Middle Ages.[citation needed]
 Hungary 2004 Hungarian French is understood and spoken by 2% of the population.
 Latvia 2008 Latvian
 Lithuania 1999 Lithuanian French is understood and spoken by 1% of the population.
 Mozambique 2006 Portuguese former Portuguese colony.
 Poland 1996 Polish Poland has historic ties to France; French is understood and spoken by 3% of the population, and many Polish emigrants settled in France in the 20th century.
 Serbia 2006 Serbian French is taught in one-third of schools.
 Slovakia 2002 Slovak French is spoken by 2% as additional language
 Slovenia 1999 Slovenian French is spoken by 4% as additional language.
 Thailand 2008 Thai
 Ukraine 2006 Ukrainian

In the U.S. state of Louisiana (the small French-speaking Cajun minority in Acadiana) is an observer member with some representation in the Francophonie; the state was formerly part of New France from 1680 to 1767 (the brief period of Spanish rule by New Spain), and again from 1800 to 1803 when the United States annexed Louisiana and the remainder known as the Louisiana Purchase.

Italy is not an observer[13] even though French is one of the two official languages in the Aosta Valley region.

India is neither a member nor an observer[14], even though French holds the status of an official language in the Indian Union Territory of Puducherry (French: Pondichéry)

Turkey has a large number French-speaking citizens, have a large presence of French Education in French and the Turkish language has many French words and a heavy French influence.

The current subdivisional members are Belgium, Canada, Switzerland and Luxembourg.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Brochure: L’Institut de l’énergie et de l’environnement de la Francophonie (IEPF). Accessed 22 January 2009.
  2. ^ Atlas of Canada: The Francophonie
  3. ^ FRANCOPHONIE 18/03/2006, Radio France International
  4. ^ "Francophonie" The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Foundation of Canada, 2008. Accessed 22 January 2009.
  5. ^ Radio France International, February 16, 2006
  6. ^ La France à l’heure de la francophonie culturelle « Saisir du français pour l’imprégner de sa singularité ! », Radio France International
  7. ^ Brochure: L’Institut de l’énergie et de l’environnement de la Francophonie (IEPF). Accessed 22 January 2009.
  8. ^ http://www.mytelus.com/ncp_news/article.en.do?pn=canada&articleID=3018967
  9. ^ Déclaration de Bamako
  10. ^ "L’OIF suspend la Mauritanie", Radio France Internationale, August 27, 2008
  11. ^ Embassy of France in the US - France / Eastern Europe
  12. ^ Ginsburgh, Victor, Université Catholique de Louvain; Weber, Shlomo, Professor Economy and Director of the Center for Economic Studies of the Southern Methodist University, Dallas, USA, and having a seat in the expert panel of the IMF [1] (June 2006). "La dynamique des langues en Belgique" (in French) (pdf 0.7 MB). Regards économiques, Publication préparée par les économistes de l'Université Catholique de Louvain 19 (Numéro 42): 282. doi:10.1159/000013462. http://regards.ires.ucl.ac.be/Archives/RE042.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-05-07. "Les enquêtes montrent que la Flandre est bien plus multilingue, ce qui est sans doute un fait bien connu, mais la différence est considérable : alors que 59 % et 53 % des Flamands connaissent le français ou l'anglais respectivement, seulement 19 % et 17 % des Wallons connaissent le néerlandais ou l'anglais. ... 95 pour cent des Bruxellois déclarent parler le français, alors que ce pourcentage tombe à 59 pour cent pour le néerlandais. Quant à l’anglais, il est connu par une proportion importante de la population à Bruxelles (41 pour cent). ... Le syndrome d’H (...) frappe la Wallonie, où à peine 19 et 17 pour cent de la population parlent respectivement le néerlandais et l’anglais.". 
  13. ^ http://www.francophonie.org/oif/membres.cfm
  14. ^ http://www.francophonie.org/oif/membres.cfm

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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