By Felician Masumbuko

“I am a tenant of a house whose landlord is the Francophonie,” said Charles Todjinou, minister-counselor who works at the Embassy of Benin in Washington, DC.

The International Organization of the Francophonie (IOF) organizes an international week of Francophonie in March every year.

This year’s Francophonie week was celebrated in sub-Saharan Africa with a meeting of all French teachers. During that week, Todjinou was here at Buffalo State College and emphasized the importance of the Francophonie worldwide and the French language in particular.

“The French language is the only language spoken on all seven continents,” said Todjinou.

According to Todjinou, French is known worldwide as a language of civilization.

“In many countries, French is used as a vehicle of cultural values and a way of uniting people,” he said.

In their Francophonie meeting held in Libreville, Gabon, French teachers said that France has become a guardian of temple whose access is now universal.

“The Francophonie has a universal connotation. It’s a community of cultural values and friendships,” said Todjinou, “It is a rendezvous of giving and receiving.”

During the meeting, Jean F. Gounard, director of BSC’s International Student Affairs said: “The French language does not belong to one country. It is a shared language.”

Krystle Babbs, an English major at BSC and one of the students who attended the meeting said: “I find myself fond of literature in translation. I came to gather more information about it.”

According to Todjinou, the globalization is first of all the internationalization of information. He said that many international organizations fear the Francophonie because of its big block that tends to be like a small United Nations.

“It is a concert of countries whose language is French and have nothing to do with the French’s political system,” said Gounard.

On the issue of democracy and Francophonie, Todjinou said that the Francophonie has a duty to solve conflicts peacefully and help country members to achieve a solid system of government.

Todjinou said that the Francophonie is a tolerant organization and values local cultures as a way to express each given community’s ideas.

In his article published in Le Figaro, a French daily newspaper, Pierre-André Wiltzer wrote: “The Francophonie rejects any imperialist perspective lead by a dominant economy and a uniform and standard culture that imposes one language of communication.”

Today, the OIF counts 51 country members and five observers (For a complete list, click here http://www.francophonie.org/membres/etats/)

For more on the Francophonie, visit:
· http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Francophonie
· http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/lo-ol/international/index_e.cfm