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The Commonwealth and La Francophonie - Roles for the future
Written by Martin Mulligan
This meeting, in January 2002, was sponsored and hosted in Paris by the Fondation Singer-Polignac. It brought together a group of distinguished Commonwealth and Francophonie statesmen and women, academics and representatives of business and the voluntary sector. They included Flora MacDonald (former Canadian Foreign Minister), Farooq Sobhan (former Foreign Minister of Bangladesh) Seydou Madani Sy (Médiateur de la République du Sénégal) and Petre Roman (former Prime Minister of Romania). More than half of all Commonwealth citizens are under the age of 25, and the picture is similar picture for La Francophonie. More energetic involvement of youth in shaping the future of the two ensembles was felt to be crucial, and several initiatives with a strong IT and web-based element designed to draw in young people were commended. Other topics covered were higher education, investment, and human rights and justice. Various ideas for strengthening links, such as a Commonwealth-Francophonie games, were discussed. The report by Martin Mulligan of the Financial Times captures the substance of the discussion and includes a list of proposals covering, among other things, investment, distance learning, and university links, for consideration and action by governments and Francophonie/Commonwealth bodies.Number of pages/format: B5 16 pp
Published: February 2002
ISBN: 0 9540118 4 8