Francophonie is an international organization of polities and governments with French French is a Romance language spoken as a first language by about 136 million people worldwide. Around 190 million people speak French as a second language, and an additional 200 million speak it as an acquired foreign language. French speaking communities are present in 57 countries and territories. Most native speakers of the language live in as the mother or customary language, where in a significant proportion of people are francophones The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person (French speakers) or where there is a notable affiliation with the French language or culture The culture of France and of the French people has been shaped by geography, by profound historical events, and by foreign and internal forces and groups. France, and in particular Paris, has played an important role as a center of high culture and of decorative arts since the seventeenth century, first in Europe, and from the nineteenth century.

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] In a majority of member states, French is not the predominant native language. 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.

French geographer Onésime Reclus, brother of Élisée Reclus Élisée Reclus , also known as Jacques Élisée Reclus, was a renowned French geographer, writer and anarchist. He produced his 19-volume masterwork La Nouvelle Géographie universelle, la terre et les hommes over a period of nearly 20 years (1875 – 1894). In 1892 he was awarded the prestigious Gold Medal of the Paris Geographical Society for, 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 Léopold Sédar Senghor was a Senegalese poet, politician, and cultural theorist who served as the first president of Senegal (1960–1980). Senghor was the first African to sit as a member of the Académie française. He was also the founder of the political party called the Senegalese Democratic Bloc. He is regarded by many as one of the most, founder of the Négritude Négritude is a literary and ideological movement, developed by francophone black intellectuals, writers, and politicians in France in the 1930s by a group that included the future Senegalese President Léopold Sédar Senghor, Martinican poet Aimé Césaire, and the Guianan Léon Damas movement, in the review Esprit Esprit is a French literary magazine. Founded in October 1932 by Emmanuel Mounier, it was the principal review of personalist intellectuals of the time. From 1957 to 1976, it was directed by Jean-Marie Domenach. Paul Thibaud directed it for some time. The philosopher Paul Ricoeur often collaborated with it. Esprit is a member of the Eurozine in 1962, who assimilated it into Humanism Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. The term has a complex history and is used to mean several things, most notably, an educational movement, associated especially with the Italian Renaissance, that emphasized the study of Greek and Roman literature, rhetoric, and moral philosophy –.^[5][6]

The modern organization was created in 1970. Its motto A motto is a phrase meant to formally describe the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottos of governments is égalité, complémentarité, solidarité ("equality, complementarity, and solidarity"),^[1] alluding to France France (pronounced /ˈfrænts/ frantss or /ˈfrɑːnts/ frahnts; French pronunciation (help·info): [fʁɑ̃s]), officially the French Republic (French: République française, pronounced: [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a state in Western Europe with several of its overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian,'s motto Liberté, égalité, fraternité, French for "Liberty, equality, fraternity ", is the national motto of France, and is a typical example of a tripartite motto. Although it finds its origins in the French Revolution, it was then only one motto among others and was not really institutionalized until the Third Republic at the end of the 19. 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.

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 The United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation. Its powers are to oversee the budget of the United Nations, appoint the non-permanent members to the Security Council, receive reports from other parts of the United Nations and make. 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)

Executive Secretariat (Secretaries-general)

• Boutros Boutros-Ghali Boutros Boutros-Ghali (born 14 November, 1922) is an Egyptian diplomat who was the sixth Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) from January 1992 to December 1996 (Egypt Egypt (pronounced /ˈiːdʒɪpt/ ; Arabic: مصر‎ Miṣr, pronounced [misˤɾ] ( listen); Arabic: مِصْر Miṣr [ˈmisˤɾ]; Egyptian Arabic: مَصْر Maṣr [ˈmɑsˤɾ]; Coptic: Ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, kīmi; Egyptian: 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 Kemet), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula) : 16 Nov 1997 - 31 Dec 2002
• Abdou Diouf Abdou Diouf (born September 7, 1935) was the second President of Senegal, serving from 1981 to 2000. Diouf is notable both for coming to power by peaceful succession, and leaving willingly after losing the 2000 presidential election to Abdoulaye Wade. He has been the Secretary-General of La Francophonie since 2003 (Senegal Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal (République du Sénégal, IPA: [ʁepyblik dy seneɡal]), is a country south of the Sénégal River in western Africa. It owes its name to the river that borders it to the East and North and that originates from the Fouta Djallon in Guinea. Senegal is externally bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west,) : 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 organization.

Past Summits:

• Quebec City Quebec , French: Québec ([keˈbɛk] ( listen)), also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City (French: Ville de Québec) is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec – after Montreal, about 233 kilometres (145 mi) to the southwest. As of the 2006, Quebec Quebec is the second most populous province, after Ontario. Most inhabitants live in urban areas near the Saint Lawrence River between Montreal and Quebec City, the capital. English-speaking communities and English-language institutions are concentrated in the west of the island of Montreal but are also significantly present in the Outaouais, the (Canada The land occupied by Canada was inhabited for millennia by various groups of Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French expeditions explored, and later settled, along the Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three) (2-4 September 1987)
• Dakar Dakar is the capital city of Senegal, located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula, on the country's Atlantic coast. It is Senegal's largest city. Its position, on the western edge of Africa , is an advantageous departure point for trans-Atlantic and European trade; this fact aided its growth into a major regional port, Senegal Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal (République du Sénégal, IPA: [ʁepyblik dy seneɡal]), is a country south of the Sénégal River in western Africa. It owes its name to the river that borders it to the East and North and that originates from the Fouta Djallon in Guinea. Senegal is externally bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, (24-26 May 1989)
• Paris Paris ([paʁi] in French, pronounced /ˈpærɪs/ in English) is the capital and largest city of France. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region (or Paris Region, French: Région parisienne). The city of Paris, within its administrative limits largely unchanged since 1860, has an estimated, France France (pronounced /ˈfrænts/ frantss or /ˈfrɑːnts/ frahnts; French pronunciation (help·info): [fʁɑ̃s]), officially the French Republic (French: République française, pronounced: [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a state in Western Europe with several of its overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, (19-21 November 1991)
• Port Louis Port Louis is the capital of Mauritius. It is the largest city of the country and main port, which borders the Indian Ocean. It is located in the Port Louis District. The population is 147,688 (2003 census), Mauritius Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius (French: République de Maurice) is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about 900 kilometres (560 mi) east of Madagascar. In addition to the island of Mauritius, the Republic includes the islands of Cargados Carajos, Rodrigues and the (16-18 October 1993)
• Cotonou Cotonou is the economic capital of Benin, as well as its largest city. Its official population count was 761,137 inhabitants in 2006; however, some estimates indicate its population may be as high as 1.2 million. The population in 1960 was only 70,000. The urban area continues to expand, notably towards the west. The city lies in the southeast of, Benin Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located. The capital of Benin is Porto-Novo, but the seat of government is located in the (2-4 December 1995)
• Hanoi Hanoi pronunciation (help·info), estimated population nearly 6.5 million (2009), is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam. It was eclipsed by Huế during the Nguyễn Dynasty as the capital of Vietnam, but Hanoi served as the capital of French Indochina from 190, Vietnam Vietnam (pronounced /ˌviː.ɛtˈnɑːm/ VEE-et-NAHM; Vietnamese: Việt Nam, listen ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnamese: Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam, listen (help·info)), is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by People's Republic of China (PRC) to the (14-16 November 1997)
• Moncton Moncton is a Canadian city located in Westmorland County, New Brunswick. The city is situated in southeastern New Brunswick, within the Petitcodiac River Valley, and lies at the geographic centre of the Maritime Provinces. The community has gained the nickname "Hub City" because of its central location and also because Moncton has, New Brunswick New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only constitutionally bilingual province (English and French) in the federation. The provincial capital is Fredericton. Statistics Canada estimates the provincial population in 2009 to be 750,457; a majority are English-speaking, but there is also a large Francophone minority (33% (Canada The land occupied by Canada was inhabited for millennia by various groups of Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French expeditions explored, and later settled, along the Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three) (3-5 September 1999)
• Beirut Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon with a population of over 2.1 million as of 2007. Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's coastline with the Mediterranean sea, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan Area, which consists of the city and its suburbs. The first mention, Lebanon Lebanon (pronounced /ˈlɛbənɒn/ or /ˈlɛbənən/; Arabic: لُبْنَان‎ Lubnān; French: Liban), officially the Republic of Lebanon[nb 1] (Arabic: اَلْجُمْهُورِيَّة اَللُّبْنَانِيَّة al-Jumhūrīyah al-Lubnānīyah; French: République libanaise), is a country on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean (18-20 October 2002)
• Ouagadougou Ouagadougou is the capital of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural and economic center of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 1,475,223 (as of 2006). The city's name is often shortened to Ouaga. The inhabitants are called ouagalais. The spelling of the name Ouagadougou is derived from, Burkina Faso Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest (26-27 November 2004)
• Bucharest Bucharest (Romanian: București pronounced [bukuˈreʃtʲ] ) is the capital city, industrial, cultural, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at 44°25′57″N 26°06′14″E / 44.4325°N 26.10389°E , Romania Romania (pronounced /roʊˈmeɪniə/ roe-MAY-nee-ə; dated: Rumania, Roumania; Romanian: România [romɨˈni.a] ( listen)) is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, north of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta (28-29 September 2006)
• Quebec City Quebec , French: Québec ([keˈbɛk] ( listen)), also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City (French: Ville de Québec) is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec – after Montreal, about 233 kilometres (145 mi) to the southwest. As of the 2006, Quebec Quebec is the second most populous province, after Ontario. Most inhabitants live in urban areas near the Saint Lawrence River between Montreal and Quebec City, the capital. English-speaking communities and English-language institutions are concentrated in the west of the island of Montreal but are also significantly present in the Outaouais, the (Canada The land occupied by Canada was inhabited for millennia by various groups of Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French expeditions explored, and later settled, along the Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three) (17-19 October 2008) (part of the 400th anniversary celebration of the founding of Quebec)

Next summit:

• Montreux Montreux is a municipality in the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, Switzerland Switzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation (Confœderatio Helvetica in Latin, hence its ISO country codes CH and CHE), is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe[note 4] where it is bordered by Germany to the north, France to the west, Italy to (22-24 October 2010)

Ministerial conferences

Permanent council

The Permanent Council of the Francophonie consists of Ambassadors An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents their country. They are usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization, to serve as the official representative of their country 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 Libreville is the capital and largest city of Gabon. The city is a port on the Komo River, near the Gulf of Guinea, and a trade center for a timber region, Gabon Gabon is a country in west central Africa sharing borders with the Gulf of Guinea to the west, Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, and Cameroon to the north, with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. It covers a land area of nearly 270,000 km² and has an estimated population of 1,500,000. Its capital and largest city is; Lomé Lomé, with an estimated population of 737,751, is the capital and largest city of Togo. Located on the Gulf of Guinea, Lomé is the country's administrative and industrial center and its chief port. The city exports coffee, cocoa, copra, and palm kernels. It also has an oil refinery, Togo The Togolese Republic, often known as Togo, is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately 57,000 square kilometres with a population of approximately 6.7 million. Togo is; and Hanoi Hanoi pronunciation (help·info), estimated population nearly 6.5 million (2009), is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam. It was eclipsed by Huế during the Nguyễn Dynasty as the capital of Vietnam, but Hanoi served as the capital of French Indochina from 190, Vietnam Vietnam (pronounced /ˌviː.ɛtˈnɑːm/ VEE-et-NAHM; Vietnamese: Việt Nam, listen ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnamese: Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam, listen (help·info)), is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by People's Republic of China (PRC) to the.

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.

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).

Peace, democracy and human rights

Similar to 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 ^[7], 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.

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 d'état.^[8]

Associate Member

Observers

See also

• Agence de coopération culturelle et technique
• Minister responsible for La Francophonie (Canada)
• Jeux de la Francophonie
• Conseil international de la langue française
• French immersion
• Alliance française
• Espace Francophone pour la Recherche, le Développement et l'Innovation
• Journée internationale de la Francophonie (March 20)

• Francophone
• French colonial empire

• 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 organizations which have French as an official language

References

1. ^ ^{a b} 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. ^ Déclaration de Bamako
8. ^ "L’OIF suspend la Mauritanie", Radio France Internationale, August 27, 2008
9. ^ Embassy of France in the US - France / Eastern Europe
10. ^ 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 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.".
11. ^ Кой и колко учи езици в Европа, Дневник.

External links

• (French) La Francophonie Website
• (French) La Sphere mondiale des Francophones
• (French) Agence intergouvernementale de la Francophonie
• (English) The Rendez-vous de la Francophonie ("French Speakers' Get Together"), event developed around the International Day of the Francophonie
• (French) News from Francophonie
• (English) A post-colonial reading of Francophonie
• (English) History of the Summits
• (French) Information about the Francophonie
• (French) Espace Francophone pour la Recherche, Développement et l'Innovation EFRARD
• (French) TV-francophone
• Caravane des dix mots francophones de l'île Maurice
• (French) Francophonie - Aménagement linguistique dans le monde
• (French),(English) Webdossier on Francophone Africa

Categories: La Francophonie | 1970 establishments | Country classifications | Cultural spheres of influence | French-speaking countries

See Also:

What Links Here:

Recently Viewed Pages:

• Recreation: Outdoors: Metal Detecting: Chats and Forums: Directory
• Home
• Ohio District Courts of Appeal: Answers
• Directory
• Children's Literature: Encyclopedia
• Recreation: Outdoors: Metal Detecting: Organizations: Directory
• Precious: Dictionary
• Discovery: Dictionary
• Object: Dictionary
• Recreation: Outdoors: Metal Detecting: Directories: Directory

Most Popular Pages:

• Home
• Recreation: Outdoors: Metal Detecting: Chats and Forums: Directory
• Francophonie: Web Search
• Ohio District Courts of Appeal: Answers
• Chats and Forums: Shopping
• Brooch: Answers
• Treasure Trove: Dictionary
• Treasure Trove: Encyclopedia
• Porcia: Answers
• Hidden: Dictionary

Related 'Francophonie' Searches: