Which is the historical context of la Francophonie?

La Francophonie can be defined nowadays as the world community of French-speaking countries, or the collective unit formed by French-speaking people.  Onésime Reclus (french geographer in the 19th century) first formulated the term Francophonie with the colonialist expansion of European countries like France. The term never had a considerable impact until the 1960s when Léopold Senghor, first president of Sénégal, used it consistently.


Those political leaders who emerged from decolonization in French Africa in the 1960s, ended up pursuing the institutional expansion and functional cooperation within the Francophone world. With their newly acquired civil liberties, and political and social rights, they wished to create new mechanisms of consultation, co-operation, and, whenever deemed appropriate, policy coordination at the political level. Such ideas were fostered by figures like Léopold Senghor of Senegal, Hamani Diori of Niger, and Habib Bourguiba of Tunisia. Several African countries saw it as a way to expand their access to sources of development assistance, a mini-North-South dialogue (Canada 1988, 2).

The International Organization of Francophonie is, in fact, a product emerged from the global scene of the Cold War in the middle of the process of decolonization (1960s).The Organisation was thought for those nations where French was either the official or the main minority language. It was firstly inaugurated as the Agency for Cultural and Technical Co-operation (ACTC), but afterwards it became the Intergovernmental Agency of La Francophonie. The actual name of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) was official in November 2005, along with its own constitutive Charter.


Bringing together countries from all around the globe with a common set of political and economic postcolonial background, the Organization has committed itself to carrying on initiatives with issues such as the development of democracy and technological advancement, even if the results haven’t been desirable enough. The protection of linguistic and cultural diversity, as well as a proper promotion of democracy, human rights and individual freedom, the support for scientific research and education as well as the promotion of sustainable development goals (SDGs) have been the key objectives on which the OIF has based its plan and strategy.


OIF has been cooperating with organizations such as UNESCO and sketching a structured linkage with other linguistic regions, such as the English-speaking countries gathered in the Commonwealth. Also, the Francophone Association has played a crucial role in pushing forward dialogue among cultures. The OIF has also intensified its cooperation with the European Union, the African Union and the United Nations, where it gained the status of observer member (1998), with the objectives  of conflict prevention, political stability and fighting against inequalities. It’s expected that the Organization of La Francophonie will become engaged in international policy, constituting itself as an important multilateral cooperation area.


References:

- Calvet, L-J. (2004) La diversidad lingüística: ¿Cuáles son los desafíos para la francofonía?  Hermes, Nº 40, Paris. CNRS. Available: https://www.gerflint.fr/Base/Chili4/08calvet.pdf
- Canada (1988). Overview: Canada and la Francophonie. Ottawa: Dept. of External Affairs
- Chaudenson, R. et al. (1991) La Francophonie : représentations, réalités, perspectives. París : Didier Érudition,  Available: http://eprints.aidenligne-francais-universite.auf.org/439/
- González, M. ; Noguer, M. (2014) Mas pide el ingreso de Cataluña en la Francofonía de espaldas al Gobierno en El País, 24 Mayo, Retrieved: 11 November, 2019. Available: https://elpais.com/politica/2014/05/23/actualidad/1400879854_036039.html
- Parent, R. (2018) L’illusion francophone in Le Journal de Montréal JDM,   2 décembre. Retrieved: 8 November, 2019. Available: https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2018/12/02/lillusion-francophone
- Poole, S.  (2017) French the new lingua franca of the world – vraiment? In The Guardian, 2 Dec. Retrieved: 8 November, 2019. 
- UNESCO.org. Retrieved 8 November, 2019. Available: http://es.unesco.org/





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