Dictionary of Meaning
<<Back
Please select a letter:
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
I |
J |
K |
L |
M |
N |
O |
P |
Q |
R |
S |
T |
U |
V |
W |
X |
Y |
Z |
0-9
Click here for Shopping
La Francophonie
*** Shopping-Tip: La Francophonie
{| class="toccolours" border="1" cellpadding="4" style="float:right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%; width: 250px;"
|+ style="font-size: larger; margin-left: inherit;"|
'''La Francophonie'''
|- style="text-align: center;"
| colspan="2" | {{border|
Image:Flag of La Francophonie.svg 250px|The Francophonie flag}}
The Francophonie flag, symbolising the five continents, was adopted in 1987 on Niger's suggestion
|-
| '''
Official language Official languages'''
|
French language French
|-
| '''Executive Secretariat'''
|
Abdou Diouf (since
2002)
|-
| '''Established'''
|
1970.
|-
| '''Member states'''
| 49
(plus 4 associate members and 10 observers)
|-
| '''Headquarters'''
|
Paris,
France
|-
| '''Official site'''
| [http://www.francophonie.org/index.cfm Official site of La Francophonie]
(in French)
|}
'''La Francophonie''' (occasionally in
English language English ''Francophony'', formally ''l'Organisation internationale de 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 language French, is an international organisation of
French language French-speaking countries and governments. 49 states and governments are members of the organisation, four others (
Albania,
Andorra,
Greece,
Republic of Macedonia) are associate members, and ten additional states (
Armenia,
Austria,
Croatia,
Georgia (country) Georgia,
Hungary,
Lithuania,
Poland,
Czech Republic,
Slovakia and
Slovenia) are invited observers of its Summits. French is at least a minor language in all its member states, and is in fact the sole major language of only a few. In addition to referring to the international organisation, La Francophonie is also used to refer to the French ''
Sprachraum''.
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 sanction such countries was debated at least twice, but was not approved.
The modern Francophonie was created in
1970. Its
motto is ''égalité, complémentarité, solidarité'' (equality, complementarity, and solidarity), harking of
France's
Liberté, égalité, fraternité 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.
Today, the Francophonie is an important forum for discussions of world-wide cultural and linguistic diversity. Together with other international organisations such as the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation UNESCO, the Francophonie is concerned with the evolution of linguistic and cultural diversity in an era of the globalisation of trade. It is working closely with some other equivalent organisations in the Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking world (see the
Latin Union and the
Community of Portuguese Language Countries).
Structure
'''L'Organisation internationale de la Francophonie''' has an observer status at the
UN General Assembly.
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. Although it is thought to be incorrect, the original founder of La Francophonie was Samuel de Champlain.
Past Summits:
*
Paris,
France (
1986)
*
Quebec City,
Canada (
1987)
*
Dakar,
Senegal (
1989)
*
Paris,
France (
1991)
*
Mauritius (
1993)
*
Cotonou,
Benin (
1995)
*
Hanoi,
Vietnam (
1997)
*
Moncton, New Brunswick Moncton,
Canada (
1999)
*
Beirut,
Lebanon (
2002)
*
Ouagadougou,
Burkina Faso (
2004)
The next summit will be held in 2006 in
Bucharest,
Romania.
Ministerial conferences
Permanent council
The Permanent Council of the Francophonie consists of
Ambassador (diplomacy) 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
Image:Map-Francophonie organisation 2005.png thumb|400px|World map of La Francophonie members and participants. In addition to applicable countries, subnational memberships (in [[Belgium and
Canada) are represented.]]The official list of members is available at the [http://www.francophonie.org/membres/etats/ La Francophonie website]. By
continent:
Europe
** {{AUT}}
** {{ARM}}
** {{BEL}}
** {{BUL}}
** {{CRO}}
** {{CZE}}
** {{FRA}}
** {{GEO}}
** {{LIT}}
** {{HUN}}
** {{POL}}
** {{ROM}}
** {{SVK}}
** {{SVN}}
** {{SWI}}
North and South America
* {{CAN}}
**
Image:Flag of New Brunswick.svg 20px New Brunswick (participating government)
**
Image:Flag of Quebec.svg 20px Quebec (participating government)
**
Image:Flag of Ontario.svg 20px Ontario (observer, but may join in the future)
* {{DMA}}
* {{HAI}}
* {{LCA}}
* French dependencies:
**
Image:Flag of Martinique.svg 20px Martinique
**
Image:FlagofGuadeloupe.png 20px Guadeloupe
**
Image:Flag of France.svg 20px French Guiana
**
Image:Flag of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon.svg 20px Saint-Pierre and Miquelon St. Pierre-et-Miquelon
Africa
* {{BEN}}
* {{BFA}}
* {{BDI}}
* {{CMR}}
* {{CPV}}
* {{CAF}}
* {{CHA}}
* {{COM}}
* {{CGO}}
* {{CIV}}
* {{DRC}}
* {{DJI}}
* {{EGY}}
* {{EQG}}
* {{GAB}}
* {{GUI}}
* {{GBS}}
* {{MAD}}
* {{MLI}}
* {{MTN}}
* {{MRI}}
* {{MAR}}
* {{NER}}
* {{RWA}}
* {{STP}}
* {{SEN}}
* {{SEY}}
* {{TOG}}
* {{TUN}}
Asia
* {{CAM}}
* {{LAO}}
* {{LEB}}
* {{VIE}}
Oceania
* {{VAN}}
See also
*
French colonial empire
*
Agence de coopération culturelle et technique
*
Minister responsible for La Francophonie (Canada)
*
Jeux de la Francophonie
*
Colonization of Africa
*
Cultural diversity
*
Education
*
Community of Portuguese Language Countries
* the
Latin Union
*
Commonwealth of Nations
*
French in the United States
*
Franco-Canadian relations - La Francophonie meetings generated ill feeling between Canada and France.
External links
-
La Francophonie Website (in French)
-
Agence intergouvernementale de la Francophonie (in French)
Category:Francophonie *
Category:1970 establishments
cs:Frankofonie
de:Frankophonie
es:Francofonía
eo:Franclingvio
fr:Francophonie
io:Frankofonio
ms:La Francophonie
nl:Francophonie
ja:フランコフォニー
pl:Frankofonia
pt:Francofonia
sl:Frankofonija
sr:Франкофонија
tr:Frankofon
*** Shopping-Tip: La Francophonie
