Organisation internationale de la Francophonie Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Organisation internationale de la Francophonie
Flag Logo
Anthem: "Ode to Joy" (orchestral)
Motto "Égalité, complémentarité, solidarité" "Equality, complementarity, solidarity"
Map showing the member states of la Francophonie (blue)
Headquarters	Paris, France
Official language	French
Leaders

• Secretary-General	Louise Mushikiwabo
• APF General Secretary	Jacques Krabal
• APF President	François Paradis

Establishment

• Conference of Niamey	20 March 1970 (as ACCT)
• Conference of Hanoi	14–16 November 1997 (as La Francophonie)

Area
• Total	28,223,185 km² (10,897,033 sq mi)
Population
• 2016 estimate	1 billion
• Density	36/km² (93.2/sq mi)
Website francophonie.org
Deliberately alluding to France's motto.

The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, also called International Organisation of La Francophonie, is an international organization representing countries and regions where French is a customary language, where a significant proportion of the population are French speakers, or where French culture is popular.

The organization has 88 member states and governments; 54 states are full members, 7 are associate members and 27 are observers.

French geographer Onésime Reclus made the word Francophonie in 1880. It is used to refer to the community of people and countries using the French language.

The modern organisation was created in 1970. Its motto is égalité, complémentarité, solidarité ("equality, complementarity, and solidarity"), a deliberate allusion to France's motto liberté, égalité, fraternité.

Starting as a small group of French-speaking countries, the Francophonie has since evolved into a global organization whose numerous branches cooperate with its member states in the fields of culture, science, economy, justice, and peace.

History
Member countries
Images for kids
See also

History

The Francophonie organization was fisrt known as the Agency for Cultural and Technical Co-operation.

The convention which created the Agency for Cultural and Technical Co-operation (Agence de Coopération Culturelle et Technique) was signed on 20 March 1970 by the representatives of the 21 states and governments.

In 1998, the Agency changed its name to the intergovernmental Agency of the Francophonie (Agence intergouvernementale de la Francophonie).

Finally in 2005, a new Charter of the Francophonie (la Charte de la Francophonie) was adopted, and the organization was renamed the Agency of international Organisation of the Francophonie (Organisation internationale de la Francophonie).

The organization promotes the cultures of its members and encourages the cultural and technical cooperation between them.