1. Basic information
- Date of creation: 20 March 1970.
- Founders: Léopold Sédar Senghor (former President of Senegal), Habib Bourguiba (former President of Tunisia), Hamani Diori (former President of Niger), and His Majesty the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk.
- Headquarter: Paris (France).
- Members: 93 Member States and Governments (56 full Members, 5 associate members and 32 observers).
- Objectives: Its mission is to build the active solidarity between its member states and governments, to contribute improving the standard of living of its populations. It supports theirs members in the elaboration or the consolidation of their politics and carry out the activities of international politics and multilateral cooperation, in accordance with the four major missions drawn up by the Francophonie Summit :
- Promote the French language and the cultural and linguistic diversity
- Promote Peace, Democracy and Human Rights
- Support Education, Formation, Higher education and Research
- Develop cooperation for sustainable development.
- The Estimation of francophones in 2022: About 321 million people can be defined as francophones. In South-East Asia, in Cambodia, 463,000 Francophones, representing 3% of its population; in Laos, 204,000 Francophones, representing 3%; in Vietnam, 693,000 Francophones, representing 1%.
2. Within the framework of OIF
The Secretary General of OIF is the top responsible for Organization. Madame Louise MUSHIKIWABO was appointed to this position by the Francophonie Summit in 2018, in Erevan (Armenia) and has been in this position since January 2019. The Administrator is appointed by Secretary General. That person is in charge of executing and managing the cooperation of OIF. Mrs. Caroline St-Hilaire has been in this position since 21 march 2023. The OIF is placed under the authority of 3 political entities: The Summit, the supreme organ of the Organization which meets every two years, the Francophonie Ministerial Conference (CMF) and the Permanent Council of la Francophonie (CPF). The OIF has :
- 4 permanent representatives :
- in Addis Ababa, to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa,
- in Brussels, with the European Union,
- in New York and Geneva, to the United Nations.
- 8 regional offices :
- in Lomé (Togo) for West Africa,
- in Libreville (Gabon) for Central Africa,
- in Hanoi (Vietnam) for the Asia-Pacific Region ;
- in Port-au-Prince (Haiti) for pour the Caribbean and Latin America
- in Bucharest (Romania) for the Central and Eastern Europe
- in Antananarivo (Madagascar) for the Indian Ocean
- in Tunis (Tunisia) for North Africa
- in Beirut (Lebanon) for the Middle East
3. Along with OIF
The OIF acts in synergy with the Parliamentary Assembly of la Francophonie (APF), the four specialized operators, namely the University Agency of la Francophonie (AUF), TV5, the International Association of Francophone Mayors (AIMF), the University of Senghor of Alexandria; as well as with the two permanent ministerial conferences : the Conference of Ministers of National Education (Confémen) and the Conference of Ministers of Youth and Sports (Conféjes).
4. Cambodia and OIF
- In November 1991: becomes the observer member, at the 4th Francophonie Summit in Chaillot (Paris), France.
- In October 1993: becomes a full member, at the 5th Francophonie Summit in Grand-Baie (Mauritius)
5. The upcoming instances of OIF
- The 46th Ministerial Conference of La Francophonie (CMF) will be held in 2025 in Kigali, Rwanda.
- The 20th Summit of La Francophonie will be held in 2026 in Cambodia.
- For more information, please visit the website: francophonie.org
