What is la francophonie?

There is no doubt that since its existence, language has been a crucial element of human communication. In fact, languages are one of the ways through which globalization has reached every corner of our planet. Languages change, they are imposed, they are taught and learned, they gain power or disappear, and they can serve as links for promoting peace, solidarity, and progress within different actors of the world. This is the case of the French language, the fifth most spoken language in the world with a population of around 300 million speakers across the globe. 

This group of people from 80 different nations across all five continents are part of “la francophonie”. When we capitalize the term, la Francophonie becomes not only the ensemble of speakers, but the region that comprises the nations that have French as their official or co-official language. We associate this coalition of countries to an international organization, the Organization Internationale de la francophonie. The OIF unites nations around the promotion of the French language and uses its diversity to empower democratization, delevelopment, shared values, progress, mediation and diplomacy between its member states. 

Through this blog, we are providing a report showcasing crucial information to understand the International Organisation for la francophonie.  We will analyse the roots of the organization dating back to France’s colonial past, its geographical and demographic characteristics, its impact in international relations and politics, and its implications in the economy of the member states. 



Qu’est que c’est la francophonie? 

Ça ne fait aucun doute que depuis son existence, la langue a été un élément crucial de la communication humaine. En effet, les langues sont une des manières à travers lesquelles la mondialisation a touché chaque endroit de notre planète. Les langues changent, elles sont imposées, enseignées et apprises, elles gagnent du pouvoir ou disparaissent, et elles sont aussi des liens pour promouvoir la paix, la solidarité, et le progrès entre les différents acteurs du monde. 

C'est le cas de la langue française, la cinquième langue la plus parlée du monde avec une population d’environ 300 millions des parleurs. Les francophones sont ces citoyens de 80 nations différentes dans tous les cinq continents. Quand on parle de la Francophonie avec une capital initiale, on fait référence à la région dont ces citoyens font partie. Il s'agit des nations et gouvernements qui utilisent le français en tant que langue officielle ou co officielle. Cet ensemble de pays s’associe à l’Organisation Internationale de la francophonie. L’OIF réunit des nations partout dans le monde autour de la promotion de la langue française, et utilise cette diversité pour valoriser la démocratisation, le développement, les valeurs communes, le progrès, le médiation, et la diplomatie entre ses membres. 

À travers de ce blog, on présente un reportage qui montre des informations cruciales pour comprendre l’Organisation Internationale de la francophonie. On va analyser les racines historiques de l’organisation qui remontent au passé colonial de la nation française, ses caractéristiques géographiques et démographiques, sa répercussion dans la politique et les relations internationales, et ses implications dans l’économie mondiale.   


References:

- L’aménagement linguistique dans le monde. Qu'est-ce que la Francophonie?. Retrieved from URL: http://www.axl.cefan.ulaval.ca/francophonie/francophonie.htm
- France 24 (2018, octubre 11) What is la Francophonie? [Video File]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_dlWdIciEE 
- International Democracy Watch (2019) International Organization of La Francophonie [online]. Retrieved, 5 november, 2019. Available: 
- OIF (2019) Dénombrement des francophones, La voix de la diversité, Retrieved 9 november. Available: 
- OIF Francophonie (2019, març 7) La langue française dans le monde 2018 en image [Video File]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46HFrpkKJ-g


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Comparative perspective

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Let's make a comparison with another region. Regions might choose to constitute themselves addressing different concepts. We have chosen to analyse a region that’s based upon a language as a result of historical events such as colonisation. Other regions might want to associate for mutual benefit using a shared history and common interests as well. That’s the case of the Commonwealth, a region whose members are also partly from the African continent. Despite both organizations have very similar goals, such as the promotion of peace and democracy, and the common development and progress of their members, their approaches are quite different.  The Francophonie has a more similar system to that of the United Nations, by making decisions through majority voting , while the Commonwealth does it through consensus. When it comes to funding, the Francophonie spends ten times the amount the Commonwealth does of funding per citizen. This fact portrays that when comparing them, Fran...
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What about the political characteristics of the OIF?

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