NEWS RELEASES
MINISTER DON BOUDRIA, CHAIR OF THE CONFERENCE OF FRANCOPHONE MINISTERS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE INFORMATION HIGHWAY, HAILS THE INTERNATIONAL FRANCOPHONE COMMUNITY'S COMMITMENT TO THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
May 21, 1997 No. 92
MINISTER DON BOUDRIA, CHAIR OF THE CONFERENCE OF
FRANCOPHONE MINISTERS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE INFORMATION
HIGHWAY, HAILS THE INTERNATIONAL FRANCOPHONE
COMMUNITY'S COMMITMENT TO THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
The Honourable Don Boudria, Minister for International Co-operation and Minister
Responsible for La Francophonie, today expressed his enormous satisfaction at the
conclusion of the first Conference of Francophone Ministers Responsible for the
Information Highway.
The Conference ended with the adoption of the Montreal Declaration.
The Declaration launches the Conference's Plan of Action, whose dual objective is
to create a truly Francophone environment on the information highway and to make
La Francophonie a major player in the information society.
"This declaration will be the legacy left to the rest of the world by a vibrant,
modern and determined Francophone community. It stems from a realistic assessment
of the Internet's potential to enable people to form closer ties, to develop and
to make each other's lives richer," Minister Boudria said. "The international
Francophone community has just made a historic technological shift that will be
highly beneficial, especially for young people. We should be very proud of this."
The Plan of Action is based on La Francophonie's three major objectives: to allow
more democratic access to the information highway, to use it as a tool and to
affirm the presence of La Francophonie as a cultural and economic force by
promoting the creation and dissemination of Francophone content.
Canada agreed that appropriate funding mechanisms should be established in
preparation for the Hanoi Summit. At the same time, Canada expressed its wish to
see more servers installed, to help purchase licences, to support consultation
committees, to support means for distance education, to develop production
assistance mechanisms, and to allow the sharing of knowledge between developed and
developing countries by establishing data banks.
"All Francophone countries have a lot of offer and to gain from each other. The
sooner we are all on-line, the sooner we will be able to share," Minister Boudria
noted.
"This conference allowed the preparation of a whole aspect of the program for the
upcoming Francophone Summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, in November 1997. The Montreal
Plan of Action will play a central role at the Summit," Minister Boudria
concluded.
The Conference of Francophone Ministers Responsible for the Information Highway
was organized in response to a decision made at the Cotonou Summit. Held in
Montreal from May 19 to 21, the Conference was jointly organized by the Agence de
la Francophonie and the governments of Canada and Quebec. It was attended by more
than 500 delegates, ministers and guests of the international Francophone
community.
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For further information, media representatives may contact:
Jacques Lefebvre
Official Spokesperson
Office of the Minister for International Co-operation and Minister Responsible for
La Francophonie
(819) 997-0918
Media Relations Office
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
(613) 995-1874
This document is also available on the Department's Internet site:
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca
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