FRANCOPHONIE
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(Redirected from La Francophonie)
'La Francophonie' refers to an international organization of French-speaking countries and governments, and also, in French, to the community of French-speaking people [1]. Formally known as the ''Organisation internationale de la Francophonie'' (OIF) or the International Organization of La Francophonie[2], the organisation comprises fifty-five member states and governments and thirteen observers. The prerequisite for admission is not the degree of French usage in the member countries, but a prevalent presence of French culture and French language in the member country's identity, usually stemming from France's interaction with other nations in its history. Few of the member states are majority French-speaking aside from France and its overseas possessions, and sub-national members. French functions in several other member states as a common language while having little current presence in the other members, being that the links are mainly historical and cultural.
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. In addition to referring to the international organisation, 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''). ''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 to Humanism [3][4].
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 organisation whose numerous branches cooperate with the organisation's member states in the fields of culture, science, economy, justice, and peace.
The '''Organisation internationale de la Francophonie''' has an observer status at the UN General Assembly.
:
★ '20 Mar 1970: 'Agency for Cultural and Technical Co-operation (ACCT) (''Agence de coopération culturelle et technique'')
:
★ '4 Dec 1995: 'Intergovernmental Agency of the Francophonie (''Agence intergouvernementale de la Francophonie'')
:
★ 'Dec 1998: 'International Organisation of the Francophonie (OIF) (''Organisation internationale de la Francophonie'')
:
★ Boutros Boutros-Ghali (Egypt) : 16 Nov 1997 - 31 Dec 2002
:
★ Abdou Diouf (Senegal) : 1 Jan 2003 - present
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)
★ Bucharest, Romania (2006)
Future summit:
★ Quebec City, Canada (2008) (for the 400th anniversary of Quebec City foundation)
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.
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.
The ''Charte de la Francophonie'' defines the role and missions of the organisation. The current charter was adopted in Antananarivo, on November 23, 2005. The last summit held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on 26-27 November 2004 saw the adoption of a strategic framework for the period 2004-2014.
The primary mission of the organisation 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 (October 20, 2005).
Similar to organisations such as the Commonwealth of Nations, the Francophonie have in its stated aims the promotion of democracy and human rights. Following the November 3rd 2000 ''Déclaration de Bamako'' [5], 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 government of Quebec and Canada, pushed for the adoption of a Charter in order for the organisation 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.
The official list of members is available at the Francophonie website.
Also, many northern areas of the American states of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine still contain many French-speakers, and New England as a whole was the destination for many French-Canadian immigrants in the early 20th century, some of whom retain their original language. Also, Haitian immigrants to New York and other cities largely retain their French language.
French is spoken on at least a conversational level by 29% of the population in the Netherlands, 24% of the population in Portugal, 23% of the population in United Kingdom and 20% of the population in Ireland. Source: [5], data for EU25, published before 2007 enlargement. See further: Languages of the European Union
Although the number of actual speakers in Mexico is not particularly large, and the fact that it was for a short time a French colony notwithstanding, it has historically maintained close cultural ties with both France and French Canada (it shares with the United States the largest number of French Alliance schools in the world, and there is an extension school of the National University of Mexico in Gatineau, Canada). Source: [http://www.nadeaubarlow.com/books/view/2/2 Theoretically, this American country could qualify for Francophonie membership.
In Israel, French is spoken by many Maghreb Jewish immigrants. About twenty percent of the Israeli population speaks French[6]. French used to be the diplomatic language of Israel for many years, and it is still taught in many Israeli schools. The French embassy's ''Institut français'' supports French studies in Israeli schools.
1. FRANCOPHONIE 18/03/2006, ''Radio France International''
2. [1]
3. Radio France International, February 16, 2006
4. La France à l’heure de la francophonie culturelle
« Saisir du français pour l’imprégner de sa singularité ! », ''Radio France International''
5. http://www.droitshumains.org/Francophonie/Bama_declar.htm
6. La dynamique des langues en Belgique, 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 [3], , , Regards économiques, Publication préparée par les économistes de l'Université Catholique de Louvain, 2006
★ Francophone
★ French colonial empire
★ Agence de coopération culturelle et technique
★ Minister responsible for La Francophonie (Canada)
★ Jeux de la Francophonie
★ French in Africa
★ Colonisation of Africa
★ Cultural diversity
★ Education
★ French immersion
★ Community of Portuguese Language Countries
★ the Latin Union
★ Commonwealth of Nations
★ French in the United States
★ Franco-Canadian relations
★ Franco-ontarien
★ La Francophonie Website
★ Agence intergouvernementale de la Francophonie
★ Flags of French America (Canada, Québec, Louisiana, Haiti...) in the website of Association Frontenac-Amériques
★ News from Francophonie
★ A post-colonial reading of Francophonie
'La Francophonie' refers to an international organization of French-speaking countries and governments, and also, in French, to the community of French-speaking people [1]. Formally known as the ''Organisation internationale de la Francophonie'' (OIF) or the International Organization of La Francophonie[2], the organisation comprises fifty-five member states and governments and thirteen observers. The prerequisite for admission is not the degree of French usage in the member countries, but a prevalent presence of French culture and French language in the member country's identity, usually stemming from France's interaction with other nations in its history. Few of the member states are majority French-speaking aside from France and its overseas possessions, and sub-national members. French functions in several other member states as a common language while having little current presence in the other members, being that the links are mainly historical and cultural.
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. In addition to referring to the international organisation, 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''). ''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 to Humanism [3][4].
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 organisation whose numerous branches cooperate with the organisation's member states in the fields of culture, science, economy, justice, and peace.
Structure
The '''Organisation internationale de la Francophonie''' has an observer status at the UN General Assembly.
:
★ '20 Mar 1970: 'Agency for Cultural and Technical Co-operation (ACCT) (''Agence de coopération culturelle et technique'')
:
★ '4 Dec 1995: 'Intergovernmental Agency of the Francophonie (''Agence intergouvernementale de la Francophonie'')
:
★ 'Dec 1998: 'International Organisation of the Francophonie (OIF) (''Organisation internationale de la Francophonie'')
Executive Secretariat (Secretaries-general)
:
★ Boutros Boutros-Ghali (Egypt) : 16 Nov 1997 - 31 Dec 2002
:
★ Abdou Diouf (Senegal) : 1 Jan 2003 - present
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)
★ Bucharest, Romania (2006)
Future summit:
★ Quebec City, Canada (2008) (for the 400th anniversary of Quebec City foundation)
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.
Missions
The ''Charte de la Francophonie'' defines the role and missions of the organisation. The current charter was adopted in Antananarivo, on November 23, 2005. The last summit held in 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 organisation 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 (October 20, 2005).
Peace, democracy and human rights
Similar to organisations such as the Commonwealth of Nations, the Francophonie have in its stated aims the promotion of democracy and human rights. Following the November 3rd 2000 ''Déclaration de Bamako'' [5], 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 government of Quebec and Canada, pushed for the adoption of a Charter in order for the organisation 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 Francophonie website.
| Country | Status | Year joined | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| member | 1999 | Albanian official language | approximately 30% of the population has learned French and can speak it in varying degrees. [2] | |
| member | 2004 | Catalan official language | president of France is co-prince of Andorra | |
| member | 1970 | officially trilingual, French included | French is the native language of about 37% of the population (the language of the majority of Belgium is Dutch, spoken by about 59% of the population). [6]. Belgium's French community is also a member separately. | |
| ★ French Community of Belgium | member | 1980 | French official language | a community of Belgium |
| member | 1970 | French official language | former French colony | |
| member | 1993 | Bulgarian official language | French is spoken by 9% as additional language | |
| member | 1970 | French official language | former French colony | |
| member | 1970 | French official language | former Belgian colony | |
| member | 1993 | Khmer official language | former French colony | |
| member | 1991 | officially bilingual, French included | former French colony | |
| 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). | |
| ★ New Brunswick | participating government | 1977 | officially bilingual, French included | province of Canada; was a part of the former French colony Acadia along with other parts of the Maritimes. |
| ★ Quebec | participating government | 1971 | French official language | province of Canada; was a part of the former French colony New France along with Ontario |
| member | 1996 | Portuguese official language | Former Portuguese colony with many neighboring French-speaking countries. | |
| member | 1973 | officially bilingual, French included | former French colony | |
| member | 1970 | French official language | former French colony | |
| member | 1977 | officially trilingual, French included | former French colony | |
| member | 1977 | French official language | former Belgian colony | |
| member | 1981 | French official language | former French colony | |
| member | 1970 | French official language | former French colony | |
| member | 1977 | officially bilingual, French included | former French colony | |
| member | 1979 | English official language | former French colony | |
| member | 1983 | Arabic official language | former French colony (first empire), historical Francophone elite | |
| member | 1989 | officially trilingual, French included | Former Spanish colony surrounded by French-speaking countries. | |
| (recognised as the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) | member | 2001 | Macedonian official language | |
| member | 1970 | French official language | ||
| member | 1970 | French official language | former French colony | |
| member | 2004 | Greek official language | French is understood and spoken by 8% of the population | |
| member | 1981 | French official language | former French colony | |
| member | 1979 | Portuguese official language | country surrounded by French-speaking countries. Former Portuguese colony | |
| member | 1970 | officially bilingual, French included | former French colony | |
| member | 1991 | Lao official language | former French colony | |
| member | 1973 | Arabic official language | Under a French mandate from 1920-1943, French language used in schools and universities, and is understood by majority of the population. | |
| member | 1970 | Officially trilingual, French included | ||
| member | 1970-1977 1989 | officially trilingual, French included | former French colony | |
| member | 1970 | French official language | former French colony | |
| member | 1980 | Arabic official language | former French colony, French is an administrative language | |
| member | 1970 | English official language | former French colony (first empire), later British colony, French is commonly used | |
| member | 1996 | Romanian official language | ||
| member | 1970 | French official language | former French protectorate | |
| member | 1981 | Arabic official language | former French protectorate, French is commonly used | |
| member | 1970 | French official language | former French colony | |
| member | 1993 | Romanian official language | French is understood and spoken by 24% of the population [4] | |
| member | 1970 | officially trilingual, French included | former Belgian colony | |
| member | 1981 | English official language | Former French and British colony. Antillean Creole a French-based creole language is spoken by 90% of the population. | |
| member | 1999 | Portuguese official language | Former Portuguese colony, neighboring French-speaking countries. | |
| member | 1970 | French official language | former French colony | |
| member | 1976 | officially trilingual, French included | former French colony | |
| member | 1996 | Officially quadrilingual, French included | French is the native language of about 20% of all Swiss. | |
| member | 1970 | French official language | former French colony | |
| member | 1970 | Arabic official language | former French colony, French is commonly used | |
| member | 1979 | officially trilingual | former French colony | |
| member | 1970 | Vietnamese official language | former French colony | |
| associate member | 2006 | Greek and Turkish official languages | French is understood and spoken by 12% of the population , historical ties through the Lusignan rule in the middle ages (Kingdom of Cyprus). | |
| associate member | 2006 | English official language | country surrounded by French-speaking countries | |
| observer | 2004 | Armenian official language | Armenian culture closely tied to France via the Franco-Armenian dynasty of the Kingdom of Cilicia during the Middle Ages. See also: Franco-Armenian relations | |
| observer | 2004 | German official language | French is spoken by 10% as additional language | |
| observer | 2004 | Croatian official language | French is understood and spoken by 4% of the population | |
| observer | 1999 | Czech official language | French is understood and spoken by 2% of the population | |
| observer | 2004 | Georgian official language | ||
| observer | 2004 | Hungarian official language | French is understood and spoken by 2% of the population | |
| observer | 1999 | Lithuanian official language | French is understood and spoken by 1% of the population | |
| observer | 2006 | Portuguese official language | former Portuguese colony | |
| observer | 1996 | Polish official language | French is understood and spoken by 3% of the population | |
| observer | 2006 | Serbian official language | French is taught in 1/3 of schools. | |
| observer | 2002 | Slovak official language | French is spoken by 2% as additional language | |
| observer | 1999 | Slovenian official language | French is spoken by 4% as additional language | |
| observer | 2006 | Ukrainian official language |
Non-members with significant French language usage
| Country | Languages | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Arabic (official), Berber (national) | Although French is widely spoken in the country, Algeria is not a member of the OIF. The Algerian government has implemented various reforms in recent decades to improve the status of Classical Arabic relative to French, with some success. | |
| ★ ★ | English, French | French is an official language of the Channel Islands British Crown dependencies, but English is the widely predominant language. |
| ★ Aosta Valley | Italian, French, Franco-Provençal | An autonomous Region of Italy. French and Italian are official languages; Franco-Provençal is a protected language. |
| ★ Puducherry | French, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam | A Union Territory of India, French is an official language although indigenous languages are more commonly used. |
| ★ Louisiana | English, French | While it has no official language, the American state of Louisiana has English and French as ''de facto'' "official" languages. |
Also, many northern areas of the American states of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine still contain many French-speakers, and New England as a whole was the destination for many French-Canadian immigrants in the early 20th century, some of whom retain their original language. Also, Haitian immigrants to New York and other cities largely retain their French language.
French is spoken on at least a conversational level by 29% of the population in the Netherlands, 24% of the population in Portugal, 23% of the population in United Kingdom and 20% of the population in Ireland. Source: [5], data for EU25, published before 2007 enlargement. See further: Languages of the European Union
Although the number of actual speakers in Mexico is not particularly large, and the fact that it was for a short time a French colony notwithstanding, it has historically maintained close cultural ties with both France and French Canada (it shares with the United States the largest number of French Alliance schools in the world, and there is an extension school of the National University of Mexico in Gatineau, Canada). Source: [http://www.nadeaubarlow.com/books/view/2/2 Theoretically, this American country could qualify for Francophonie membership.
In Israel, French is spoken by many Maghreb Jewish immigrants. About twenty percent of the Israeli population speaks French[6]. French used to be the diplomatic language of Israel for many years, and it is still taught in many Israeli schools. The French embassy's ''Institut français'' supports French studies in Israeli schools.
Notes
1. FRANCOPHONIE 18/03/2006, ''Radio France International''
2. [1]
3. Radio France International, February 16, 2006
4. La France à l’heure de la francophonie culturelle
« Saisir du français pour l’imprégner de sa singularité ! », ''Radio France International''
5. http://www.droitshumains.org/Francophonie/Bama_declar.htm
6. La dynamique des langues en Belgique, 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 [3], , , Regards économiques, Publication préparée par les économistes de l'Université Catholique de Louvain, 2006
See also
★ Francophone
★ French colonial empire
★ Agence de coopération culturelle et technique
★ Minister responsible for La Francophonie (Canada)
★ Jeux de la Francophonie
★ French in Africa
★ Colonisation of Africa
★ Cultural diversity
★ Education
★ French immersion
★ Community of Portuguese Language Countries
★ the Latin Union
★ Commonwealth of Nations
★ French in the United States
★ Franco-Canadian relations
★ Franco-ontarien
External links
★ La Francophonie Website
★ Agence intergouvernementale de la Francophonie
★ Flags of French America (Canada, Québec, Louisiana, Haiti...) in the website of Association Frontenac-Amériques
★ News from Francophonie
★ A post-colonial reading of Francophonie
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