{"id":565,"date":"2025-06-10T15:00:54","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T20:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/codofil1.wpenginepowered.com\/?page_id=565"},"modified":"2026-03-05T11:06:54","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T17:06:54","slug":"la-francophonie","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/codofil.org\/fr\/la-francophonie\/","title":{"rendered":"Qu'est-ce que la Francophonie ?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

A Community of Over 321 million Francophones Around the World<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"The\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"OIF\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) is a global organization<\/a> that brings together states and governments with a shared interest in the French language and international cooperation in the fields of culture, education, commerce, and politics. The mission of the OIF is to embody the active solidarity between its 93 member states and governments, which together represent over one-third of the United Nations\u2019 member states and account for a population of over 900 million people, including over 321 million French speakers.<\/p>

The OIF is one of the largest international bodies, comprising over 40% of the members of the UN. In 1970, the earliest version of the OIF was created. \u00a0Spearheaded by the Presidents of Senegal, Tunisia, and Niger, it brought together 21 participating countries and governments, united by shared language (and often a colonial history with francophone Europe). The OIF has since grown, becoming a global organization whose numerous branches cooperate with its 93 member states and governments in the fields of culture, science, economy, justice, and peace.<\/p>

The term \u201cfrancophonie\u201d was coined by the geographer On\u00e9sime Reclus\u00a0in 1880 to describe the global community of French speakers.\u00a0 In that 1880 publication he mentions Louisiana on several occasions, notably talking about about French\u2019s continued presence<\/p>

Louisiana became an observing member of the OIF in 2018, the only state in the United States with such a designation, after years of work and collaboration between CODOFIL and the OIF. In the years leading up to the OIF membership, CODOFIL worked tirelessly to make the case that Louisiana deserved a seat on the international stage. Now, as Louisiana’s Agency of Francophone Affairs, CODOFIL serves as the state government liaison for the membership to the OIF, engaging in all official communication with the OIF and its members.<\/p>

Louisiana’s membership allows the CODOFIL executive director and state officials to attend regular OIF meetings, receive funding for Francophone projects, and guarantees a spot at the biennial OIF Summit of heads of state and governments that are members of the OIF. This regular communication between CODOFIL and the OIF has led to increased funding for French projects in Louisiana, and provides state officials with access to heads of state of Francophone nations to further establish diplomatic and economic relations.\u00a0<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

OIF Summit<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

The Sommet de la Francophonie<\/span><\/span> is the highest-level meeting of the Francophonie<\/strong>. It brings together heads of state and government from member countries and participating governments or regions.<\/p>

The summit normally takes place every two years<\/strong> in a different Francophone country.<\/p>

It is where leaders discuss and decide on priorities for the Francophone world, including:<\/p>