Multilateral Francophonie: institutions and domains

The institutions of Francophonie are as follows:
The Francophonie institutions cooperate closely with French-language networks and associations:

  The fora

  The Conference of Heads of State and Government of countries using French as a common language, or the Francophone Summit

The highest forum of multilateral Francophonie, for which it defines the programme, meets every other year under the presidency of the head of State of the host country.

  The Francophonie Ministerial Conference
Once a year, this conference brings together the ministers of the countries belonging to the French-speaking community. It oversees the preparation of summits and monitors the enforcement of decisions made.

  The Permanent Council of Francophonie
It comprises the personal representatives of all member-country heads of State and government. It prepares and monitors the summits under the authority of the Ministerial Conference. It plays the roles of organizer, coordinator and arbiter for actions conducted by Francophonie operators. It has three committees: political, economic and cooperation.

  The General Secretariat of Francophonie

Placed under the authority of the fora, the Secretary General is the political spokesperson and official representative of Francophonie in the international arena. The Secretary General is also the highest-ranked official of francophone institutions and presides over the Permanent Council of Francophonie.

  The International Organization of Francophonie

In its new configuration and under the direct authority of the Secretary General, President Abdou Diouf, the OIF brings together the political activities for which it is responsible and cooperation programmes previously led by the former agency (AIF). It is structured in major directions corresponding to Francophonie’s four priority missions, which are: cultural diversity and language, democracy and human rights, education, and united development. Accordingly, the OIF is the main operator of Francophonie, tasked with implementing the programmes decided on at the summits. The OIF has three regional offices (Lomé, Libreville and Hanoi) and four liaison offices (Geneva, Brussels, Addis Ababa and New York), which come under the authority of the Secretary General. The administrator of the AIF is Mr. Clément Duhaime, Quebec’s former Delegate General in France.

  The Parliamentary Assembly of Francophonie (APF) is the consultative assembly for Francophonie. It groups together the French-speaking members of close to 80 national parliaments. The president of the APF is Mr. Bernard Patry, deputy (Canada), and the parliamentary secretary general is Mr. Jacques Legendre, senator of Nord.

  The direct Francophonie operators

• The University Agency of Francophonie (AUF) coordinates exchanges among its members: more than 635 French-speaking universities, institutes and research centres. It has ten regional offices. Its chief education officer is Ms. Michèle Gendreau-Massaloux (F), and the Chairman of its Board of Directors is Mr. Charles Gombé Mbalawa (Congo).

• Senghor University of Alexandria is a postgraduate establishment working to develop Southern countries, training about 100 administrators each year. Its chief education officer is Mr. Fernand Texier (F), and the Chairman of its Board of Directors is Mr. Hany Mahfouz HELAL (Egypt).

• The International Association of French-Speaking Mayors and Leaders of Capital Cities and Metropolitan Areas (AIMF) has 166 member cities, which cooperate in the areas of municipal management, computerization of civil status and urban development. The AIMF is chaired by the mayor of Paris, Mr. Bertrand Delanoë. Its permanent secretary is Mr. Olivier Chambard (F).

• TV5, the French-language television channel, is picked up by nearly 175 million households worldwide. Mr. François Bonnemain is the Chairman and CEO of TV5 Monde.

  The Conference of Ministers of Education of French-speaking Countries (CONFEMEN) and the Conference of Ministers of Youth and Sport of French-speaking Countries (CONFEJES) are two permanent ministerial conferences of Francophonie. They work together to develop multilateral French-related policies in their respective fields.

  The Francophone Business Forum (FFA) aims to expand trade among French-speaking countries. The chairman of the international committee is Mr. Stève Gentili (F), who is also chairman of France’s national committee.

  The Union of Francophone Press (UPF) is the oldest francophone association. Founded in 1950 under the name International Union of French-language Journalists and Press (Union internationale des journalistes et de la presse de langue française, UIJPLF), it promotes cooperation among the French-language media. Mr. Hervé Bourges (F) is the international chairman, and Mr. Georges Gros (F) is the secretary general.

  Many associations are working for the Francophonie movement, including the French-speaking Friendship and Liaison Association (AFAL), chaired by Mr. Jacques Godfrain, federating the activities of more than 150 associations.

Updated on 20.03.07