Francophonie

Francophonie is the global community of French speakers and the network of institutions promoting cooperation through the French language. It encompasses diverse societies, governments, and cultural organizations.

Onésime Reclus: A French geographer who introduced the term « francophonie » in the 1880s. He coined the term that later named the global community.
French language: A Romance language originating in France and spoken by communities worldwide. It is the shared linguistic basis of Francophonie.
La Francophonie Summit: A meeting of heads of state and government from member states and governments of the Francophonie. Summits set political priorities and guide the organization's work.
Commonwealth of Nations: A voluntary association of independent countries, most of which were formerly under British rule. It is a prominent postcolonial association whose shared history, rather than French, provides its connection.
International Organisation of La Francophonie Charter: The founding and governing text that defines the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie's aims and structure. Its principles frame cooperation around democracy, peace, and cultural and linguistic diversity.
Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation: An intergovernmental organization founded in 1970 to support French-language cooperation. It was the first major institution built to organize Francophone cooperation.
French-speaking world: The countries and communities where French is spoken, whether officially or informally. This broad linguistic geography overlaps with, but is not identical to, Francophonie's institutions.
Francophonie Ministerial Conference: A regular meeting of ministers responsible for Francophonie affairs in member states and governments. It coordinates policy between summits.
Anglosphere: A group of countries and communities connected by the English language and shared cultural or political ties. It offers a loose language-based comparison, but lacks Francophonie's equivalent intergovernmental organization.
French as an official language of the United Nations: The status of French as one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Francophone cooperation supports the international visibility and use of French.

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