Each year in March, the 93 member countries of the

International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) come

together to honor the linguistic, cultural, and artistic diversity

of the French-speaking world, including Creole languages.

Rooted in shared values of peace, democracy, human rights,

education, and gender equality, the Festival is both a

celebration and an open invitation to engage deeply with the

living, evolving cultures of Francophonie.

spoken by over 300 million people across five continents.

Each gathering reaffirms that French—and languages more

broadly—are alive, dynamic, and deeply unifying.

The concept of Francophonie was first articulated in the

1880s by the French geographer Onésime Reclus, who used the

A term to describe the global presence of French-speaking

communities. Later, Léopold Sédar Senghor, Senegal’s first

president, became a founding figure of the Cultural and

Technical Cooperation Agency (ACCT) in 1970, the institution

that would evolve into today’s Organisation Internationale de

la Francophonie (OIF). A poet, statesman, and philosopher,

Senghor championed the French language as a means of

dialogue and cultural exchange while affirming African

identity through the philosophy of Négritude and his vision of

a “Civilization of the Universal.” His commitment to

cooperation rather than colonial legacy helped shape a

framework for meaningful Francophone collaboration,

establishing French as a bridge between cultures and a

shared language of international exchange. 

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www.francophonie.org