Defence Team Official Languages Co-Champions invite you to celebrate the International Day of La Francophonie!

March 14, 2023 - Defence Stories

Caption

A message from the Official Languages Co-Champions for the Defence Team – MGen Simon Bernard, Isabelle Desmartis

Dear members of the Defence Team,

Like every year, and this year being the first day of spring representing new beginnings, the International Day of La Francophonie will be celebrated on March 20. This is a timely opportunity to promote the French language, which has been a fundamental part of our history and identity, as well as of the cultural heritage of our country since its inception.

The French language is an important part of the Defence Team. By commemorating La Francophonie, we celebrate the richness and diversity of our culture and language. The celebration of the International Day of La Francophonie also allows us to reinforce our belonging to the community of people and institutions that use French as a mother tongue, a language of use, or simply as a language of choice.

We invite you to participate in the Canada School of Public Service (CSPS) and Canadian Heritage event marking the celebration of this day in Canada. Register for the Celebrate International Francophonie Day 2023 event to learn more about the unifying power of the Francophone culture through the art, diverse experience and reflections of the guest panelists.

Happy International Francophonie Day to all members of the Defence Team, as well as to all Francophones and Francophiles in Canada!

Some highlights:

• Since 1990, Francophones around the world have celebrated the International Day of La Francophonie every March 20;
• The date of March 20 was chosen to commemorate the signing in 1970 in Niamey, Niger, of the treaty establishing the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation (ACCT), which later became the "Organisation internationale de la Francophonie" (OIF);
• The OIF brings together 88 states and governments and 321 million francophones around the world; and
• In Canada, 7.4 million people have French as their mother tongue, while it is spoken by approximately 10 million people across the country.