The first global forum on French opened on Monday in the Canadian province of Quebec, aimed at strengthening the language in a world dominated by English.
The French Language World Forum, which is being held in historic Quebec City through Friday, is expected to draw more than 1,000 artists, speakers, businesspeople, youth and representatives from civil society.
Heads of state are not invited since the gathering hopes to avoid the formality of diplomatic summits.
Photo: AFP
Events and discussions will focus on four major themes: the economy, the cultural industry, the place of French in the digital world and the coexistence of languages.
This week, in an effort to structure debate at the forum, about 40 people from France, Canada, Lebanon, Algeria and Cameroon signed a petition demanding the end of an obsession with all things English.
“We see a new world emerging, and that’s an opportunity for the French language and the French-speaking world,” Louise Beaudoin, a member of Quebec’s National Assembly who signed the petition, said in reference to the rise of Brazil, Russia, India and China in a “multipolar world.”
“We have to seize that opportunity,” she said.
Abdou Diouf, secretary general of the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF), a union of French-speaking nations, blamed intellectuals and businesspeople for not taking enough interest in promoting the language of Moliere around the world.
“In large part, academics and intellectuals don’t care. It’s a new intellectual treason, and businessmen care even less. When you talk to them about it, you bore them. You get the impression that only globalization interests them,” Diouf said in an interview on Saturday with Quebec’s daily Le Devoir.
“We must define the French language and its development according to what we want it to be first and foremost, in a context of linguistic diversity,” said Michel Audet, who will head the forum in Quebec.
There are about 220 million French speakers around the world, according to the OIF.
However, “if all goes normally, at the beginning of 2050, there should be more than 700 million French speakers, 80 percent of whom will be in Africa,” Diouf said.
Forum participants are to discuss concrete steps on how to facilitate the flow of artists, university students and businesspeople among francophone countries, as well as how to increase scientific publication in French and promote trade.
The issues are not likely to be resolved before the October summit of francophone governments in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The forum comes amid worries by some about creeping anglicization in Montreal and after a spring marked by unprecedented student protests about tuition hikes that soured the government’s image in French-language media.
“There are pictures that have hurt Quebec’s reputation around the world and those are ones of thugs and intimidation,” Quebec Culture Minister Christine St-Pierre said on the sidelines of a news conference about the forum. “We are going to rebuild that image.”
Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe has already said that he will meet with representatives of the student movement during his time in Quebec.
For five months, students, joined by anti-capitalists, have held protests against plans by the Quebec provincial government to increase tuition fees by 75 percent.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
Myanmar’s junta chief met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) for the first time since seizing power, state media reported yesterday, the highest-level meeting with a key ally for the internationally sanctioned military leader. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup in 2021, overthrowing Myanmar’s brief experiment with democracy and plunging the nation into civil war. In the four years since, his armed forces have battled dozens of ethnic armed groups and rebel militias — some with close links to China — opposed to its rule. The conflict has seen Min Aung Hlaing draw condemnation from rights groups and pursued by the
RSS