Sommet de la
Francophonie 2008 in Québec City
The
XIIe Sommet de la Francophonie was held in
Québec City from October 17 to 19, 2008. Delegations from 69 states and governments
attended, including 33 heads of state and
government.
The Government of Québec took advantage of the
Summit to promote Québec’s interests, showcase
its active role within La Francophonie, and
strengthen Quebecers’ sense of belonging to this
international forum.
The Québec Summit, which was jointly organized
by the Québec and Canadian governments in
partnership with the Government of New
Brunswick, focussed on four main issues:
Peace, Democratic Governance,
and the Rule of Law
The Summit provided an
opportunity to promote and revitalize legal and
judicial cooperation within the French-speaking
world. Tangible initiatives conducive to the
development of democratic society were proposed
to
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Support French-language
initiatives in early warning, preventive
diplomacy, and mediation;
-
Strengthen the capacity of
French-speaking states in the area of
peacekeeping;
-
Support the initiatives of
La Francophonie in the area of electoral
assistance and observation;
-
Ensure freedom of the press.
The Environment, Sustainable Development, and
Climate Change
The Québec Summit examined ways to support
sustainable management of the environment
through targeted actions, notably with regard to
water and forests. La Francophonie also
undertook to work towards ratifying the
international instruments relating to the
environment and towards successful negotiations
around the UNFCCC through the joint
participation of the French-speaking world.
Tangible initiatives were taken to
-
Strengthen the ability of developing countries
to adapt and take action;
-
Develop technology transfer;
-
Cooperate to draft national policies to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions.
The French Language
For the first time in the history of the Summit,
the French language was the specific subject of
a discussion session. On this issue, the Québec
Summit proposed common and complementary
initiatives in three areas:
-
The French language in international life,
notably through support for countries that take
initiatives to develop training for diplomats,
civil servants, interpreters, and translators to
ensure application of the Guide on the use of
the French language in international life;
-
The French language in the education systems
of states and governments, and the development
of quality public and private education;
-
The French language within society,
specifically by urging interested members to
reach a language pact with OIF and its operators
that sets out objectives for the use of French
within their boundaries and the means required
to reach them.
Economic Governance and SolidarityThe matter of the scope and possible impacts of
the world financial crisis was raised at the
Summit. The members supported the idea of
holding an international summit on the issue,
and undertook to play a role in improving world
economic governance.
Given the current situation, La Francophonie
also undertook to strengthen economic solidarity
and cooperation among its members and to promote
corporate social responsibility and transparency
in the extractive industries. French-speaking
countries have already made a number of
commitments in this regard, but could step up
their efforts in two main areas:
- The Extractive Industries Transparency
Initiative (EITI);
- Corporate social/societal and environmental
responsibility.
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Organisation internationale de la Francophonie
The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF: international organization of La Francophonie) is an international
body that groups together 56 member states and governments and 14 observer states. Its member states are home to over
200-million people around the world who share the French language and certain values.
The OIF’s priorities for action in the French-speaking world are to prevent conflicts, consolidate the rule of law and democracy,
and promote and ensure human rights. The OIF works to advance the French language and cultural diversity and is at the
service of education and training. It is also involved in economic cooperation, in a spirit of sustainable development.
Headquartered in Paris, the OIF is led by a Secretary General, who is assisted by an Administrator. Its efforts are
supported by four operating agencies:
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Québec and La Francophonie
Québec is one of the founding members of La
Francophonie. Its status as a participating
government entitles it to take part in all the
activities and programs of La Francophonie,
including Summits and ministerial and other
conferences. La Francophonie is an international
forum where Québec can promote its values and
interests, a place where members can discuss
issues and take action to promote the French
language, the dialogue of cultures, respect for
the environment, and international solidarity.
Québec is very active in North/South cooperation.
Québec is well aware of the vital nature of the
issues facing La Francophonie and has always
played an active role in creating and developing
French-language institutions. Québec is
committed to being involved in all these
institutions because it believes that their
mission and actions are essential to its own
future and growth. Through La Francophonie,
Québec acts on the international scene to ensure
its own cultural and linguistic identity.
In addition to the actions it takes with the
main players in La Francophonie, Québec is also
directly involved in various OIF programs and
projects, including the following:
Support for Democracy
At the request of OIF, Directeur général des
élections du Québec (DGEQ) has conducted over 40
election observation, assistance, analysis, and
information missions in some fifteen
French-speaking countries. Most of these
missions were aimed at strengthening democratic
life, notably by training election personnel.
DGEQ has also published a guide for election
observation missions.
Centres for Reading and Cultural Activities
Since 1998, further to a proposal put forth by
Québec, La Francophonie has set up 213 centres
for reading and cultural activities (CLAC) in 18
countries in Africa, the Caribbean, the Middle
East, and around the Indian Ocean. These centres
provide cultural and public venues (book and
media libraries) as well as training and support
for local development and schooling.
French Teaching in Southeast Asia
Québec, together with its French and Belgian
partners, is involved in VALOFRASE, a program
promoting French in Southeast Asia. Launched in
2007, the program aims to promote French
language teaching in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia,
from primary school to university. In
partnership with Centrale des syndicats du
Québec (CSQ), Québec sends trainers and
cooperants to take part in the program and also
provides financial support.
Challenges for Québec
OIF is the only multilateral government
organization of which Québec is a full-fledged
member, so it’s only natural that it occupies a
key position in Québec’s International Policy.
Québec’s action within La Francophonie aims
primarily to achieve three of the five main
goals set out in the Policy, namely
-
Strengthening Québec’s ability to take action
and influence events
-
Promoting Québec’s identity and culture
-
Contributing to the cause of international
solidarity
Strengthening Québec’s ability to take action
and influence events
OIF, with its diverse member countries and
governments, is a powerful North/South forum
within which Québec can make contacts, forge
relationships, promote its positions, and
influence the decision-making process. Its work
within the Organization helps it defend and
promote its priority causes. Given that La
Francophonie counts among its members nearly
one-third of UN member states, it provides a
significant presence for Québec on the
international scene.
The Convention on the Protection and Promotion
of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions adopted
by the UNESCO General Conference on October 20,
2005, is one example of the role OIF can play on
the international scene. Québec made the
adoption of this convention a priority, and from
its position within OIF, helped build a
coalition of favourable countries. The
organization itself also led a strong campaign.
Consequently, an overwhelming majority of La
Francophonie’s member countries voted in favour
of adopting the Convention, and the ratification
process is also proceeding smoothly. With this
issue, Québec showed that it had the power to
exert real influence on the international scene.
The government is continuing its efforts to have
the Convention ratified by as many countries as
possible.
Promoting Québec’s identity and culture
The only majority French-speaking society in
North America, Québec seeks to affirm its
identity while promoting access to other
languages and cultures. As a result, when it
acts at the international level to promote its
interests, the Québec government takes into
account the culture and values that are part of
Québec’s identity.
One of the ongoing objectives of the Québec
government has been to ensure the protection and
promotion of the French language. Québec has
long been a pioneer in language policy and its
expertise in this area is widely recognized
today. The government believes that by bringing
this expertise to the French-speaking world, it
can play an important role in developing French
knowledge tools. It places great importance on
support for programs to develop “partner”
languages within the French-speaking world, and
on OIF’s openness to other major linguistic
areas.
By cooperating with its OIF partners, Québec
also seeks to ensure greater French-language
content and works in digital format.
Bibliothèques et Archives nationales du Québec
is currently working with other national
libraries to set up a web portal for
French-language national digital libraries (see
website of
Réseau francophone des bibliothèques
nationales numériques).
Contributing to the cause of international
solidarity
Playing an active role on the international
scene is crucial for modern states like Québec.
The benefits are undeniable, but this role also
carries its share of duties and obligations
toward the partners with whom we share this
international space.
La Francophonie is an ideal forum for Québec to
take action on issues of solidarity and follow
through on its desire to contribute to
international solidarity—one of the key
objectives of its International Policy. Through
La Francophonie and its many outlets, Québec
acts within a structured framework where its
efforts are combined with those of other members,
ultimately giving them more weight.
This solidarity is especially evident in areas
where Québec excels, including teaching and
training, culture, energy and the environment,
democratic institutions, human rights, justice,
the protection of language and cultural
expressions, new information and communication
technologies, and many others.
These solidarity efforts would not be possible
without the essential contribution of Québec
institutions and organizations that work daily
to carry out all kinds of cooperative projects.
The support and commitment of civil society is
key to achieving Québec’s solidarity goals.
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