Our embassies around the world celebrate the French language

20^th March, the founding day of the International Organisation of La Francophonie, has become the International Day of the French language. Many Belgian embassies have organised activities to promote the French-speaking world such as film screenings, culinary events, concerts, seminars and so on.

Facing the large diffusion of the English language in our world, the language of Molière still holds out... According to recent numbers, as many as 396 million people speak French across the world, making it the fourth most spoken language.

The heartland of Francophonie, of course, is France, along with neighbouring areas in Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland. However, today about 60% of all French speakers live in Africa.
 

Belgium, a founding member

Following the period of independence, it was deemed useful to create an organisation that would unite all French speaking community. Thus, the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF), based in Paris, was founded in Niamey, Niger, on 20 March 1970. Belgium, besides being a founding member of the organisation, even has two seats: one at federal level and one for the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles.

Today, the OIF has 53 members, five associate members and 32 observers. In addition to promoting the French language, the organisation is committed to peace, human rights, democracy and cultural diversity. It fosters education and economic cooperation to bolster sustainable development.

The OIF also plays an active political role, including through election observation and mediation missions in Francophone countries. Every two years, a Francophonie summit brings together the Heads of State and Government of the member countries, constituting the highest governing body of the institution.

The next summit will take place in November in Phnom Penh (Cambodia), with the election of the next Secretary-General of the OIF as the main agenda item. The ministers meet annually.
 

Rumba Royale

20^th March, the founding day of the OIF, has become the leading international celebration day of the Francophonie. Across the world, not only in the member states of the OIF, events are held to highlight the diversity and vitality of La Francophonie. Traditionally, many of our embassies are also keen participants in this.

Some chose cinema. For example, our embassy in Ankara and our consulate in Istanbul organised a screening of L’été de Jahia (Jahia's Summer) by Olivier Meys as part of the Francophone Film Festival in Türkiye. The screenings, held in Izmir, Ankara and Istanbul, brought together Turkish, Belgian and international audiences.

In Kampala (Uganda), Rumba Royale, a film by Ahmed Mobasser about the political and cultural dynamics of Léopoldville in 1959, was selected. And in Asunción (Paraguay), our embassy joined the Francophone Film Cycle with a screening of Aimer perdre (Heads or Fails) by Lenny and Harpo Guit.

Karaoke

Music is also a popular art form when it comes to uniting people. Our embassy in Cotonou, together with the embassies of Luxembourg and the DR Congo, among others, opted for a festive karaoke evening at the Institut Français. Around 20 performers delighted an audience of more than 150 attendees with classics from artists such as Stromae, Angèle and Céline Dion.

In Tokyo (Japan), the saxophone took centre stage. Our embassy hosted a concert at the Institut français with Japanese saxophonist Rui Ozawa and pianist Masanori Enoki. Ozawa won second place in the 2019 Adolphe Sax International Competition in Dinant.

In Budapest (Hungary), our colleagues enjoyed a concert featuring Belgian, Hungarian and French composers, all French speaking. Think of Claude Debussy, César Franck, Franz Liszt and Élise Bertrand.

Belgian fries

Culinary events were also well represented. In Helsinki, Finland, our embassy took part in the ‘Flavours of Francophonie’ event with a very popular waffle stand. In Cotonou, Belgian fries were served, while Tokyo opted for Belgian beef stew.

In China, our embassy in Beijing is currently leading the group of Francophone ambassadors. The highlight of the various activities there was the Délices Francophones, a major culinary event held at the embassy itself, in cooperation with some 20 Francophone embassies. The programme featured traditional dishes and artistic performances for a Chinese and international audience.

Finally, we note a few more substantive activities, often in a GAF context (GAF = Groupe des Ambassadeurs francophones or Francophone ambassadors’ group):

• a scientific panel discussion on the role of artificial intelligence in healthcare in Atlanta (USA), with experts from Belgium, France and Canada/Quebec.
• An information session in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for Argentine youth about studying in French-speaking countries.
   

Cultural diversity

And all this constitutes just a sample of the numerous activities that highlighted Francophonie. A common language fosters connections, and we need those ties more than ever in a world at risk of falling apart.

However, the OIF also values cultural diversity. And that not only through dialogue with other language areas, but also by striving for the ‘discoverability’ (découvrabilité) of French-language content in search engines. The activities of our embassies contributed to this as well.