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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

This article is part of the series on: French language
Langues d'Oïl Dialects Creoles Francophonie History Oaths of Strasbourg Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts Anglo-Norman Grammar Adverbs Articles and determiners Pronouns Personal Pronouns Verbs Conjugation Verb morphology Orthography Alphabet Reforms Use of the circumflex Phonology Elision Liaison Aspirated h
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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] 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, 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"),^[1] 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.

1 Structure
2 Missions
- 2.1 French language, cultural and linguistic diversity
- 2.2 Peace, democracy and human rights
3 Members
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

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)

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 organization.

Past Summits:

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 (14-16 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)

Next summit:

Montreux, (22-24 October 2010)

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 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 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 ^[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]

Country	Joined	Language	Notes
Albania	1999	Albanian	approximately 30% of young Albanians choose French as their first foreign language^[9]
Andorra	2004	Catalan	Neighbouring France. The French President is co-Prince of Andorra. Read further: Languages of Andorra
Belgium	1970	officially trilingual, French included	French is the native language of about 40% of the population ^[10] and spoken as an additional languages by 48%[2]. Belgium's French community is also a member separately. See also: Languages of Belgium and Belgian French
* French Community of Belgium	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	1970	French	former French colony
Bulgaria	1993	Bulgarian	French is spoken by 9% as additional language, and is taught as a main foreign language in about 25% of primary schools.^[11]
Burkina Faso	1970	French	former French colony
Burundi	1970	French	former Belgian UN-protectorate
Cambodia	1993	Khmer	former French protectorate (as a part of former French Indochina)
Cameroon	1991	officially bilingual, French included	over 90% of country was a French colony
Canada	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 New France, the North American portion of the first French colonial empire.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	1977	officially bilingual, French included	considered a "participating government," this province of Canada is officially bilingual English-French and home to the largest community of Acadians.
* Quebec	1971	French	considered a "participating government," this province of Canada has French as its sole official language and is home to 85% of Canada's native francophones.
Cape Verde	1996	Portuguese	Former Portuguese colony with many neighboring French-speaking countries.
Central African Republic	1973	officially bilingual, French included	former French colony
Chad	1970	French	former French colony
Comoros	1977	officially trilingual, French included	former French colony
Democratic Republic of the Congo	1977	French	former Belgian colony. See also: Languages of the DRC
Republic of the Congo	1981	French	former French colony
Côte d'Ivoire	1970	French	former French colonySee also: Languages of Côte d'Ivoire
Djibouti	1977	officially bilingual, French included	former French colony
Dominica	1979	English	French and then British colony; Antillean Creole, a French-based creole language, is spoken by 90% of the population.
Egypt	1983	Arabic	traditional Francophone elite
Equatorial Guinea	1989	(officially trilingual, French included)	Former Spanish colony surrounded by French-speaking countries.
Republic of Macedonia	2001	Macedonian	French is taught as a second language in many Macedonian schools throughout the country.
France	1970	French
Gabon	1970	French	former French colony
Greece	2004	Greek	French is understood and spoken by 8% of the population
Guinea	1981	French	former French colony
Guinea-Bissau	1979	Portuguese	country surrounded by French-speaking countries. Former Portuguese colony
Haiti	1970	officially bilingual, French included	former French colony
Laos	1991	Lao	former French colony
Lebanon	1973	Arabic; French is an administrative language	Under a French mandate from 1920-1943, historical Crusader ties, French language used in schools and universities, and is understood by the majority of the population.
Luxembourg	1970	Officially trilingual, French included
Madagascar	1970-1977, 1989	officially trilingual, French included	former French colony
Mali	1970	French	former French colony
Mauritania	1980	Arabic	former French colony, French is an administrative language
Mauritius	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	1996	Romanian	close ties with Romania
Monaco	1970	French	former French protectorate
Morocco	1981	Arabic	former French protectorate; French is commonly used
Niger	1970	French	former French colony
Romania	1993	Romanian	French is understood and spoken by 24% of the population [3]. Historic cultural ties with France, especially during the late 19th century and early 20th century.
Rwanda	1970	officially trilingual with French included	former Belgian UN-protectorate. In 2009, became a member of the Commonwealth, but remains a member within Francophonie.
Saint Lucia	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	1999	Portuguese	Former Portuguese colony, neighboring French-speaking countries.
Senegal	1970	French	former French colony, part of former French West Africa
Seychelles	1976	officially trilingual, French included	former French colony (first empire), later British colony, French is commonly used
Switzerland	1996	Officially quadrilingual, French included	French is the native language of about 20% of all Swiss.
Togo	1970	French	former French colony
Tunisia	1970	Arabic	former French protectorate; French is commonly used
Vanuatu	1979	officially trilingual	former French and British condominium
Vietnam	1970	Vietnamese	former French colony

Associate Member

Country	Joined	Language	Notes
Armenia	2008	Armenian	Historical French-Armenian ties, including the Armenian national movement and the French-Armenian Agreement of 1916. A significant part of the Armenian diaspora lives in France. See further: Languages of Armenia
Cyprus	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.The Republic of Cyprus enjoys a robust relationship with France and looks to French policy on many issues.
Ghana	2006	English	The country surrounded by French-speaking countries. See further: Languages of Ghana

Observers

Country	Joined	Language	Notes
Austria	2004	German	French is spoken by 10% as additional language.See further: Languages of Austria.
Croatia	2004	Croatian	French is understood and spoken by 4% of the population, and a large part of the country was part of 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.See further: Languages of Hungary.
Latvia	2008	Latvian
Lithuania	1999	Lithuanian	French is understood and spoken by 1% of the population.
Mozambique	2006	Portuguese	former Portuguese colony.See further: Languages of Mozambique.
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.See further: Languages of Serbia.
Slovakia	2002	Slovak	French is spoken by 2% as additional language
Slovenia	1999	Slovene	French is spoken by 4% as additional language, and a large part of the country was part of the Illyrian Provinces with its capital in Ljubljana during Napoleonic rule from 1809 to 1813.
Thailand	2008	Thai
Ukraine	2006	Ukrainian	See further: Languages of Ukraine.

Significant Non-members

Some countries or regions are not members of the OIF ("La Francophonie"), but are French-speaking or have significant French history and so are considered part of the francophone world.

Country	Language	Notes
Algeria	Arabic, Berber, French	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 Standard Arabic relative to French, with some success. Algeria was a part of France until 1962. See further: languages of Algeria
Guernsey	English, French, Guernésiais, Sercquiais	French is an official language of Guernsey, but English is the widely predominant language.
India * Puducherry	French, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam	A Union Territory of India, French is an official language although indigenous languages are more commonly used.
Italy * Aosta Valley	Italian, French, Franco-Provençal	An autonomous Region of Italy. French and Italian are official languages; Franco-Provençal is a protected language.
Israel	Hebrew, Arabic	French is spoken by 10% of the population.^{[citation needed]} Israel has applied to join the OIF, but has been rejected by Chad, Lebanon and Mauritania.^{[citation needed]}See further: languages of Israel
Jersey	English, French, Jèrriais	French is an official language of Jersey, but English is the widely predominant language.See further: languages of Jersey
Mexico	Spanish	Formerly occupied by France; the two countries retain strong educational and cultural ties and cooperate in many areas.
Syria	Arabic, French	Although French is spoken as a secondary language in the country, Syria is not a member of the OIF. Syria was a French Mandate from 1919 to 1945. The Syrian government has implemented various nationalist reforms in the decades following independence to limit the use of French and other foreign languages, but is now taking actions to promote the status of French in education relative to English, with some success. See further: languages of Syria
United Kingdom	English Language, Welsh Language	The United Kingdom has a strong tradition of learning French as a foreign language and this is quite evident in that 23% of British residents claim that they can speak and understand the French language. In addition, there are approximately 300,000 French citizens living in the main cities of the United Kingdom. The French culture can be noticed throughout various neighbourhoods in British cities with French citizens studying in French government run 'Lycées'.
United States * Louisiana * Maine * New Hampshire * Vermont	English, French (see also Cajun French), Louisiana Creole French	While it has no official language, the American state of Louisiana has English and French as de facto "official" languages. Many northern areas of New England were destinations for many French-Canadian immigrants in the mid to late 19th century and early 20th century and still contain many French-speakers.

References

^ ^a ^b Brochure: L’Institut de l’énergie et de l’environnement de la Francophonie (IEPF). Accessed 22 January 2009.
^ Atlas of Canada: The Francophonie
^ FRANCOPHONIE 18/03/2006, Radio France International
^ "Francophonie" The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Foundation of Canada, 2008. Accessed 22 January 2009.
^ Radio France International, February 16, 2006
^ La France à l’heure de la francophonie culturelle « Saisir du français pour l’imprégner de sa singularité ! », Radio France International
^ Déclaration de Bamako
^ "L’OIF suspend la Mauritanie", Radio France Internationale, August 27, 2008
^ Embassy of France in the US - France / Eastern Europe
^ 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.".
^ 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

Member states and observers of the 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 · France (French Guiana • Guadeloupe • Martinique • St. Pierre and Miquelon) · Gabon · Ghana¹ · Greece · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Haiti · Laos · Luxembourg · Lebanon · Macedonia² · 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 · Croatia · Czech Republic · Georgia · Hungary · Latvia · Lithuania · Mozambique · Poland · Serbia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Thailand · Ukraine

¹ Associate member. ² Provisionally referred to by the Francophonie as the "former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia"; see Macedonia naming dispute.

Countries and languages lists

Languages by continent

Africa · Americas (North · South) · Asia (East · South) · Europe · Oceania

Languages by country

Official languages (by state)

Unions based on language

Arab League · Commonwealth of Nations (English) · Dutch Union · La Francophonie · Latin Union · Hispanidad · CPLP, PALOP (Portuguese) · TÜRKSOY (Turkic languages)

Countries by language

Countries by spoken languages

by official language	Arabic · English · French · Portuguese · Russian · Spanish

Endonyms	Countries and capitals in native languages · Countries by native names

Exonyms	Country names in various languages (A-C · D-I · J-P · Q-Z) · Languages of the European Union

Languages by population

by number of native speakers

Languages by family

language families

Hidden categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements from August 2008 | Articles with unsourced statements from January 2010 | Articles with unsourced statements from September 2009

Organisation internationale de la Francophonie

File:Flag of La

Motto
"Égalité, Complémentarité, Solidarité"
("Equality, Complementarity, Solidarity"),^[1]
alluding to France's motto

File:Map-Francophonie organisation

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

This article is part of the series on: French language
Dialects Langues d'Oïl Creoles Francophonie History Oaths of Strasbourg Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts Anglo-Norman Grammar Adverbs Articles and determiners Pronouns Personal Pronouns Verbs Conjugation Verb morphology Orthography Alphabet Reforms Use of the circumflex Phonology Elision Liaison Aspirated h
This box: [[Template:FULLPAGENAME: French language\|view]] • [[{{TALKPAGENAME:Template:FULLPAGENAME: French language}}\|talk]] • [{{fullurl:Template:FULLPAGENAME: French language\|action=edit}}edit]

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.

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.

1 Structure
2 Missions
- 2.1 French language, cultural and linguistic diversity
- 2.2 Peace, democracy and human rights
3 Members
- 3.1 Observers
4 References
5 See also
6 External links

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)