By its very nature, the La Francophonie summit feels linguistically limiting. The International Organization of La Francophonie (IOF), which held the 15th Summit of La Francophonie in late November, has been alternatively thought of as insular, retrenched or obsessed with preserving a bygone culturalism by the English-speaking world.
That is, if it is thought of at all.
The 15th Summit, though, offered a new approach to the inherent linguistic and cultural similarities of French-speaking nations. The leaders there spoke strongly about harnessing the strength of the Francophone community — IOF spans 57 member states, 220 million people and is as geographically diverse as any organization in the world — and using it to thrive economically. To discuss such potential, Senegalese president Macky Sall, the host of the summit, scheduled an economic forum to take place directly following the summit.
Why, you might ask, are the Francophone countries just now attempting to realize their economic potential and create an economic community? It is a complicated question, but the answer lies in the way a more globalized economy has allowed Francophone communities to reconnect economically and culturally, as well as innovative solutions to trade and interaction between nations with significant socioeconomic and geographical disparity.
Firstly, the Francophone communities, taken collectively, have well-performing economies. The 57 member states, in which all at least a fraction of the population speaks French, generated a GDP of $7.2 billion in 2012. More impressive is the 3.2% total GDP growth of the Francophone region over the past five years, a period when many countries reeled from the global recession.
The economic forum also discussed ways in which that more developed Francophone countries with established industry — France, Canada, among others — could interact successfully with developing nations in Africa, eastern Europe and South America which need investment but are ready to explode economically.
Perhaps the trump card for Francophone nations is also their major challenge: Can these nations band together to challenge the Anglo-normativity found across economic sectors? There is certainly room to grow, with a recent report showing that only 5 percent of the internet is in French and most globally recognized nations having been founded in English-speaking nations. Can French countries and companies develop something to challenge Netflix, for example, to offer an alternative to appeal to French speakers?
Solutions to these and more problems, such as developing coherent, cross-border legal and business frameworks to better facilitate communication and industry throughout the Francophone world, were discussed at the summit and forum, both of which were produced by Richard Attias & Associates.
Many member nations, including Canada, called for a “new relevance” for La Francophonie. Much of that will come in the economic sphere, where there is great growth potential. It remains to be seen, though, whether these countries will ultimately work together along economic lines as well as they do along cultural and linguistic lines.