Today's Date:

March 20 was set aside 32 years ago as a day to celebrate Francophony. The idea came from four remarkable statesmen, Habib Bourguiba, Diori Hamani, Norodom Sihanouk and Léopold Sédar Senghor who died just recently. On this symbolic date, many of our thoughts and tributes will be directed to Léopold Sédar Senghor whose political writings and literary work so well reflect the ideas and vitality of Francophony.

Strong in the roots which give Francophony its raison d’être and coherence, the organization should not be mistaken for a closed club based on ties forged by a common history among its members. New countries have joined with the founders, and Francophony has asserted itself as a community of values, an organization with universal appeal coming to grips with the challenges of its age. Francophony is tireless in seeking to rally around the values of fraternity, tolerance and universality all countries that wish to affirm a common vision of the world that goes beyond their own particularisms, a world able to fashion more equitable, more respectful human relations within societies and among peoples.

Openness to the world is a natural dimension of Francophony and it is probably this which nurtures its power of attraction and accounts for the fact that it has spread well beyond its natural linguistic borders. While the French language is spoken by 170 million people in the world, a figure that gives French a modest 7th or 8th ranking, the influence of Francophony is far greater than the numbers would suggest. French, together with English, is the only language spoken on all the continents. Its status as an international language confers on it an enviable situation which it is up to us to uphold in the main multilateral organizations. That is why the Francophone Organization has implemented a plan to give French a lift in international organizations. It includes financing strategic posts for young French-speaking experts, support mechanisms for translation and interpretation, and a plan of action spanning several years to consolidate the role of French as a pivotal language in European bodies. On the international stage, in business relations, in daily life, the French language must not remain insensible to change. It must admit innovation, anticipate and generate progress in science and technology so as to maintain its appeal and capacity to say and do. France cannot pursue this ambition alone, and achieving the goal requires the help of its partners and the action of the International Francophony Organization and its operators. That is the purpose of the international colloquium which will meet in Brussels on March 20 and has attracted a group of distinguished speakers to debate the modernization of the French language, language of the world.

I am confident because I know that I can count on the resolute commitment of 54 states and governments which, together with France, represent a community of more than 500 million people. If we all recognize the virtues of French, though our familiarity with the language may vary, it is because in our diversity we are convinced that Francophony is not there to promote French exclusively, that it is not the cause of a single language to the exclusion of others. On the contrary, it is the struggle of all languages. When we say that we have French in common, we are saying that French is not the monopoly of any one of us, that it has many faces, that it exists solely in otherness, exposed in our states and on their borders to contact with other minority and majority languages, to neighbors and groups with which it maintains fruitful ties.

At the same time as the Francophone organization was expanding to include new countries, it was also extending its field of action. The French language is still the cement but it is also a building-block in the creativity process that is constantly being renewed by new writers, playwrights, thinkers, poets and singers from all over the world, also by the academic and research community, many of whose members are affiliated with some 400 establishments in the Agence Universitaire de le Francophonie. Our language is a bridge linking athletes, artists, dancers, specialists and citizens in professional networks and associations, bringing them together through “twinning” arrangements, festivals, partnerships, development programs, cultural events, seminars, sports meetings and individual projects.

While the solidarity among members of Francophony is reflected in concrete events, its political vocation is also affirmed. It is based now on two priorities: deepening democracy and the rule of law in the Francophone world, and promoting linguistic and cultural diversity.

Since 1997 Francophony has had a secretariat and become a determined actor in international relations. Its action is guided by the wish to see democracy firmly rooted in the French-speaking world, a position that is perfectly reflected in the Bamako Declaration, adopted in November 1999, and the very firm positions it has taken in recent conflicts involving certain members.

The promotion of linguistic and cultural diversity is the other main line of its policy. Its objective is to prevent globalization from exacerbating inequalities and the negation of identity, and for it to be, on the contrary, a factor in development and in dialogue among cultures. Member states and governments of the Francophone Organization believe that states and governments are entitled freely to establish their cultural policies and acquire the requisite means and instruments to implement such policies. They made this point at the Francophone ministers conference on culture, held in Cotonou in June 2001. The declaration issued at the conference made Francophony the first international organization to affirm the importance of cultural diversity. The struggle for cultural diversity is not that of Francophony alone. Many states and the other main linguistic areas are concerned, and the Francophone Organization is endeavoring to rally them by continuing its efforts in this domain where it has played a pioneering role. While the Cotonou conference was an important stage, the summit which is to be held in Beirut in October 2002 on the theme of dialogue among cultures should mark new progress.

So I am keen to see Francophony continue opening to the wider world in step with its age. I would like to express my gratitude to all who are making a contribution, larger every year, to enable it to flourish all over the world. Through all the events taking place today, the celebration will demonstrate the truly universal character of Francophony. I offer my warmest thanks to our partners and cultural and teaching establishments for the imagination they have shown for this special day. I thank them for the portrait of a fascinating, innovating and welcoming Francophony they have depicted which, I am sure, will win accolades from the public. May their efforts be crowned with every success./.