Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie
Motto "Égalité, Complémentarité, Solidarité"[citation needed] ("Equality, Complementarity, Solidarity"), alluding to France's motto
Members and participants of La 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

This article is part of the series on: French language

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La Francophonie is an international organization of French-speaking polities and governments and, in French, the community of French-speaking peoples.^[1] Formally known as the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) or the International Organization of La Francophonie,^[2] the organisation comprises fifty-six member states and governments and fourteen 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 colonial ambitions 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.^{[citation needed]} 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.

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 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

Summits

Summits of the Francophonie (often referred by the English media as the "Francophone Summit")^[5] 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, Quebec (Canada) (2-4 September 1987)
• Dakar, Senegal (24-26 May 1989)
• Chaillot, Paris, France (19-21 November 1991)
• Port Louis,Mauritius (16-18 October 1993)
• Cotonou, Benin (2-4 December 1995)
• Hanoi, Vietnam (14-17 November 1997)
• Moncton, New Brunswick (Canada) (3-5 September 1999)
• Beirut, Lebanon (18-20 October 2002)
• Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (26-27 November 2004)
• Bucharest, Romania (28-29 September 2006)
• Quebec City, Quebec (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 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 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 ^[6], 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 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.

Mauritania's membership was suspended on August 26, 2008, pending democratic elections, after a military coup.^[7]

Country	Status	Year joined	Official language	Notes
Albania	member	1999	Albanian	approximately 30% of young Albanians choose French as their first foreign language[8]
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. [9]. Belgium's French community is also a member separately.
* 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, New France.
*  Quebec	participating government	1971	French	province of Canada; former French colony Canada, 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 trilingual, French included	Former Spanish colony surrounded by French-speaking countries.
FYR Macedonia	member	2001	Macedonian
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 and French; Creole is th mother tongue of the general population.	French, then British colony; French is the preferred language and is official.
Moldova	member	1996	Romanian
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]
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	Portugues	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 colony; French is commonly used
Vanuatu	member	1979	officially trilingual	former French and British condominium
Vietnam	member	1970	Vietnamese	former French colony
Armenia	associate member	2004[10]	Armenian	Armenian culture is tied to France via the Franco-Armenian dynasty of the Kingdom of Cilicia during the Middle Ages and the large Armenian community in France. See also: Franco-Armenian relations
Cyprus	associate member	2006	Greek	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

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	Alike Armenia, the Georgians 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.
Italy	2004	Italian	French is official language in Aosta Valley region.
Latvia	2008	Latvian
Lithuania	1999	Lithuanian	French is understood and spoken by 1% of the population, and in World War I the Baltic States was occupied by a French military garrison to protect them from the newly-formed Soviet Union (1918).
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

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 remainder known as the Louisiana Purchase.

References

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
• List of French loanwords in Persian?

External links

• (French) La Francophonie Website
• (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) Flags of French America (Canada, Québec, Louisiana, Haiti, etc) in the website of Association Frontenac-Amériques
• (French) Espace Francophone pour la Recherche&Développement et l'Innovation

v • d • e Member states and observers of La Francophonie Members Albania · Andorra · Armenia · Belgium (French Community) · Benin · Bulgaria · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cambodia · Cameroon · Canada (New Brunswick • Quebec) · Cape Verde · Central African Republic · Chad · Comoros · Cyprus1 · Democratic Republic of the Congo · Republic of the Congo · Côte d'Ivoire · Djibouti · Dominica · Egypt · Equatorial Guinea · FYR Macedonia · France (French Guiana • Guadeloupe • Martinique • St. Pierre and Miquelon) · Gabon · Ghana1 · Greece · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Haiti · Laos · Luxembourg · Lebanon · Madagascar · Mali · Mauritania · Mauritius · Moldova · Monaco · Morocco · Niger · Romania · Rwanda · St. Lucia · São Tomé and Príncipe · Senegal · Seychelles · Switzerland · Togo · Tunisia · Vanuatu · Vietnam Observers Austria · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Chile · Croatia · Czech Republic · Georgia · Hungary · Italy · Lithuania · Louisiana (USA) (Louisiana Creole) · Mozambique · Poland · Russia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Ukraine 1 Associate member.

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