La Francophonie
La Francophonie , a
French language term coined in 1880 by French geographer On?sime Reclus, brother of Elis?e Reclus, to designate the community of people and countries using
French, is an international organisation of
French-speaking countries and governments. Fifty-three states and governments are members of the organisation, four others are associate members, and ten additional states are invited observers of its Summits. Few of the member states are majority French-speaking aside from France, its overseas possessions and sub-national members.
Encyclopedia
style="font-size: larger; margin-left: inherit;"|La Francophonie
The Francophonie flag, symbolising the five continents, was adopted in 1987 on Niger's suggestion |
| Official languages | French |
| Executive Secretariat | Abdou Diouf |
| Established | 1970. |
| Member states | 49
|
| Headquarters | Paris, France |
| Official site |
|
La Francophonie , a
French language term coined in 1880 by French geographer Onésime Reclus, brother of
Elisée Reclus, to designate the community of people and countries using
French, is an international organisation of
French-speaking countries and governments. Fifty-three states and governments are members of the organisation, four others are associate members, and ten additional states are invited observers of its Summits. Few of the member states are majority French-speaking aside from France, its overseas possessions and sub-national members. In several other member states French functions as a common language. In several others French has little current presence and the links are mainly historical and cultural.
In addition to referring to the international organisation, La Francophonie may also be used to reference the worldwide community of those people whose native language or second language is French .
Unlike some similar organisations such as the
Commonwealth of Nations, La Francophonie does not have in its stated aims the promotion of
democracy and
human rights. This has led to some criticism as several of the member states have a poor record when it comes to the protection of human rights and the practice of democracy; a proposed measure to impose sanctions on such countries was debated at least twice but was not approved.
The modern Francophonie was created in 1970. Its motto is
égalité, complémentarité, solidarité , harking of
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
L'Organisation internationale de la Francophonie has an observer status at the
UN General Assembly.
- 20 Mar 1970 :Agency for Cultural and Technical Co-operation .
- 4 Dec 1995 :Intergovernmental Agency of the Francophonie.
- Dec 1998 :International Organization of the Francophonie .
Executive Secretariat
- Boutros Boutros-Ghali : 16 Nov 1997 - 31 Dec 2002 .
- Abdou Diouf : 1 Jan 2003 - current .
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:
|common_name = Paris
...
, France
|common_name = Paris
...
, France
The next summit will be held in 2006 in Bucharest, Romania.
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.
Members
The official list of members is available at the . By continent:
Europe
North and South America
Africa
Asia
Oceania
Associate members
Additional states
See also
...
External links
