Tunis/Tunisia — The 18th Francophonie Summit, hosted November 19-20 in Djerba under the theme: "Connectivity in Diversity: The Digital, Vector of Development and Solidarity in the French-speaking World" marking the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the International Organisation of la Francophonie (OIF), was crowned by the adoption of the "Djerba Declaration."
The participating 31 Heads of State and Government and 35 Foreign Affairs Ministers notably discussed the adoption of the 2022-2026 Digital Francophonie Strategy, the importance of developing a culture of digital utilisation in formal and non-formal education, the need to provide the right conditions to improve people's mobility, calling for dialogue and the peaceful settlement of conflicts within the Francophone space according to internationally agreed negotiation standards.
The "Djerba Declaration" paid tribute to the founding fathers of the Francophonie, namely Habib Bourguiba (Tunisia), Léopold Sédar Senghor (Senegal), Norodom Sihanouk (Cambodia) and Hamani Diori (Niger) as well as to first Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, endorsing the new impetus given by the OIF Secretary General "for a renewed Francophonie at the service of peoples."
The event further offered the opportunity for the participants to reaffirm their support to the OIF's new orientations, including the major work undertaken towards its transformation, the refocusing of the Francophonie's actions on strategic issues such as the French language, democracy and respect for human rights, equal access to quality education for all, higher education and research, training, culture, the economy, digital technology, preservation of the environment, and sustainable development.
The Djerba Summit and its subsequent declaration reaffirmed commitment to promoting gender equality as a universal value and a key condition for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, and determination to move forward with concerted action in this regard.
Besides, the participants welcomed the commitment of the OIF S-G and the actors of La Francophonie for a concerted and joint management of the health crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic for the benefit of the Francophone space populations, urging to mobilise so as to facilitate fair access to health services, treatments and vaccines. They further called States and governments to adopt these principles in the event of a new pandemic.
They also reiterated commitment to the French language and respect of cultural and linguistic diversity within States and Governments in the Francophone space, as the bedrock of the Francophonie.
In another vein, the Djerba Declaration regrets the recurrence of crises and conflicts in the French-speaking world and calls for dialogue and the peaceful resolution of these situations in compliance with the internationally agreed negotiation formats, in keeping with the goals and principles of the United Nations Charter and with respect for democracy, human rights, the sovereignty of States and international law.
In this regard, the Declaration decries the global energy, food, economic and humanitarian implications as well as the growing inequalities arising from the war in Ukraine, calling on the States and governments of the French-speaking world to show solidarity and inviting the international community to do its utmost to swiftly mitigate their deleterious impact on the affected populations.
Signatories of the Declaration also condemned terrorism under all its forms, notably in the Sahel region, calling for a joint action to combat this scourge and prevent the violent radicalisation and extremism that could lead to terrorism.
Aware of the realities and challenges facing the Francophone space, of the need to bolster the cohesion of its societies and keen to meet the legitimate aspirations of its populations, the OIF welcomed in particular the adoption of the Francophonie Digital Strategy 2022-2026, which provides a framework for action to speed up the digital transformation of the Francophone space and its integration into the global digital economy, while respecting human rights and democracy.
Commending the relevance of the theme chosen for the Djerba Summit, the OIF points out the tremendous prospects for cooperation, development and innovation offered by digital technology, so as to ensure effective connectivity between the populations of the French-speaking world and to promote the spread of the French language while respecting cultural and linguistic diversity.
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Modernising public administration and improving the efficiency and accessibility of services, particularly in the civil status field, with a view to better control of costs and simplification of procedures, thereby guaranteeing universality and transparency, is another key idea of the Djerba Declaration, which notes that, through this opinion, the Francophone parliaments propose a set of measures to promote a digital transition that is inclusive, fair and supportive, notably in matters of taxation, countering misinformation and digital accessibility.
The OIF underlined the importance of developing a culture of digital use in formal and non-formal education to improve the quality of learning and teaching, educational continuity, notably in times of crisis, pedagogical innovation, the dissemination of necessary educational resources and the improvement of employability, leading to better management of education systems and the development and implementation of better public policies in education.
