Wellbeing Wednesday - Do you speak French?
22 Mar 2023
The Francophonie refers to men and women who share a common language: French. We estimate over 321 million French speakers across five continents.
The Francophonie is also an institution dedicated since 1970, to promoting the French language and political, educational, economic, and cultural cooperation among the 88 member countries of the Organisation Internationale of la Francophonie (OIF) [International Organisation of La Francophonie].
The Charter of the Francophonie defines the institution; its highest authority, the Summit of the Francophonie; and its cornerstone, the Secretary General of the Francophonie, a position currently held by Louise Mushikiwabo.
The Francophonie’s mission mandates are:
- To promote the French language and cultural and linguistic diversity;
- To promote peace, democracy, and human rights;
- To support education, training, higher education, and research;
- To foster economic cooperation to bolster sustainable development.
Every year, on 20th March, the International Day of La Francophonie is celebrated throughout the world, in French-speaking countries as well as in those where the French language is less widely spoken. This date refers to the birth, on 20 March 1970 in Niamey (Niger), of the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation, which later became the International Organisation of La Francophonie.
“321 million French speakers, billions of cultural contents”: this year, we celebrate Francophone cultural creation, its diversity, but also the need to enhance its online access: its "discoverability". Indeed, the principle of cultural and linguistic diversity, which is dear to the French-speaking world, is now being challenged by the impact of digital technology.
At Ecole Jacques Prévert this week, we celebrate French language and Francophonie in every year group. All children discovered and understood what “francophonie” means and learnt about different countries around the globe where people also speak French. They also found out that French is the fifth most spoken language. What do you think the other four most spoken languages in the world are? If you are not sure, ask your children!
Bonne journée,
Mrs Weber