Francophonie

Infobox Geopolitical organization
native_name = "Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie"
linking_name = La Francophonie

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text_symbol_type = Motto
text_symbol = "Égalité, Complémentarité, Solidarité"Fact|date=October 2008"
("Equality, Complementarity, Solidarity"), alluding to France's motto

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map_caption = Members and participants of La Francophonie. In addition to countries, Belgian and Canadian subdivisional memberships are also represented.
membership = 53 member states 2 associate members 13 observers
admin_center_type = Headquarters
admin_center = Paris, France
latd= |latm= |latNS= |longd= |longm= |longEW=
languages_type = Official languages
languages = French
ethnic_groups =
ethnic_groups_year =
leader_title1 = Executive Secretary
leader_name1 = Abdou Diouf
established = 1970

La Francophonie is an international organisation of French-speaking countries and governmentsDubious|date=August 2008 and, in French, the community of French-speaking peoples. [ [http://www.rfi.fr/lffr/articles/075/article_642.asp FRANCOPHONIE 18/03/2006] , "Radio France International" ] Formally known as the "Organisation internationale de la Francophonie" (OIF) or the International Organization of La Francophonie, [ [http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/foreign_policy/francophonie/francophonie_institutions-en.asp Canada in la Francophonie] ] 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. [Radio France International, February 16, 2006 ] [ [http://www.rfi.fr/Fichiers/MFI/CultureSociete/1703.asp La France à l’heure de la francophonie culturelle « Saisir du français pour l’imprégner de sa singularité ! »] , "Radio France International"]

The modern Francophonie was created in 1970. Its motto is "égalité, complémentarité, solidarité" ("equality, complementarity, and solidarity"), alluding to France's motto.Fact|date=October 2008 Started as a small club of northern French-speaking countries, it has since evolved into a global organisation whose numerous branches cooperate with its member states in the fields of culture, science, economy, justice, and peace.

tructure

::"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 international 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 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

ummits

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:
*Palace of Versailles, Paris, France (17-19 February 1986)
*Quebec City, Canada (2-4 September 1987)
*Dakar, Senegal (24-26 May 1989)
*Chaillot, Paris, France (19-21 November 1991)
*Mauritius (16-18 October 1993)
*Cotonou, Benin (2-4 December 1995)
*Hanoi, Vietnam (14-17 November 1997)
*Moncton, Canada (3-5 September 1999)
*Beirut, Lebanon (18-20 October 2002)
*Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (26-27 November 2004)
*Bucharest, Romania (28-29 September 2006)

Future summit:
*Quebec City, Canada (17-19 October 2008) (part of the 400th anniversary celebration of the founding of Quebec)

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 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 (October 20, 2005).

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" [ [http://www.droitshumains.org/Francophonie/Bama_declar.htm Déclaration de Bamako ] ] , 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 [http://www.francophonie.org/oif/membres.cfm Francophonie website] .

Mauritania's membership was suspended on August 26, 2008, pending democratic elections, after a military coup. [ [http://www.rfi.fr/actufr/articles/104/article_71669.asp "L’OIF suspend la Mauritanie"] , Radio France Internationale, August 27, 2008]

Observers

The U.S. state of Louisiana (the small French-speaking Cajun minority in Acadiana) is an observant 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 reminder known as the Louisiana Purchase. fact

Notes

See also

* Francophone
* French colonial empire
* Agence de coopération culturelle et technique
* Minister responsible for La Francophonie (Canada)
* Jeux de la Francophonie
* Conseil international de la langue française
* French immersion

* French in Africa
* French in India
* French in the United States
* Franco-Canadian relations
* Franco-ontarien

*List of countries where French is an official language
*List of international organisations which have French as an official language

External links

*fr icon [http://www.francophonie.org/ La Francophonie Website]
*fr icon [http://agence.francophonie.org/ Agence intergouvernementale de la Francophonie]
*en icon [http://rvf.ca/home/index_e.php "The Rendez-vous de la Francophonie"] ("French Speakers' Get Together"), event developed around the International Day of the Francophonie
*fr icon [http://www.fildepresse.com/ News from Francophonie]
*en icon [http://www.espacestemps.net/document2077.html A post-colonial reading of Francophonie]
*en icon [http://www.international.gc.ca/foreign_policy/francophonie/francophonie_summits-en.asp History of the Summits]
*fr icon [http://frontenac.ameriques.free.fr/drapeaux-francophones.php Flags of French America] (Canada, Québec, Louisiana, Haiti, etc) in the website of Association Frontenac-Amériques
*fr icon [http://efrardwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Accueil Espace Francophone pour la Recherche&Développement et l'Innovation ]