By Felician Masumbuko

The French Club at Buffalo State College invited Charles Todjinou, minister-counselor from the Embassy of Benin, to the United States to speak about the Francophonie World just before the spring break.

In recent years, many countries have decided to put together a lingua franca in order to better express themselves. The French language, an official language spoken in more than 33 countries, unites different political systems and late in the 20th century, French speaking countries decided to form International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF).

Antoine Polgar, a French professor at BSC said, “French not only reunites France’s ancient colonies, but also unites many other countries that have French as an official or second language.”

According to Polgar, in spite of the colonial legacy, French still has a universal mission.

The OIF’s objectives are:

• working for peace
• working for democracy
• working for human rights
• working for education
• working for cultural diversity
• boosting the economy and development

“If the language is life, the Francophonie is that marvelous tool that will help us to describe and discover the world. It is a common denominator that unites various cultures,” declared the 2001’s OIF meeting in Beirut.

According to the Beirut summit, the Francophonie facilitates cultural dialog and sharing because it fetches its strength in diversity.

Lindsay Ramunno, a French major at BSC said, “I am able to comprehend things more critically and the use of French has made everything easier for me.”

The Francophonie is not limited to the language itself anymore, but it has become a way of living that involves both the spirit and the community.

The OIF’s official bodies are:

• Francophone Summit or Conference of Heads of States and Government of countries using French as a common language. It meets every two years;
• ministerial conference of the Francophone (CMF): mainly foreign affairs ministers;
• standing committee of the Francophone (CPF): representatives of head of states and government;
• secretary general: elected for four years by the head of states and government.

For more on Francophonie world, visit :

http://www.sommet2002.org/index.html
http://flabs.emich.edu/nfw/fphonie.htm
http://french.about.com/cs/organisationsfran/

Francophone summits:

1986: Paris
1987: Quebec
1989: Dakar
1991: Chaillot
1993: Mauritius
1995: Cotonou
1997: Hanol
1999: Monoton
2001: Beirut