La Francophonie and Cultural Diversity

Canada's participation in the International Francophonie confirms Canada's commitment to promoting cultural diversity both nationally and abroad. The International Francophonie is a privileged forum for cooperation and dialogue, where Canada can and must promote the democratic, cultural and economic values that Canadians want to share.

Through the various influential fora and tools La Francophonie has set up since its inception, Canada has access to the world's rich cultural environment which, it uses for the benefit of all citizens. Canada's involvement in TV5, for instance, provides our audiovisual industry and creators with a showcase in more than 203 countries. In return, Canadians can keep in touch with Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas on a daily basis via their television sets.

Through its participation in the various Official Bodies of La Francophonie, Canada also advocates globalization that respects culture. The Ministerial Conference on Culture (available only in French) held in Cotonou, June 2001, (Declaration) (available only in French) was a key step in making our partners in La Francophonie aware of the importance of protecting and supporting their unique cultures in the current context of global trade and economic integration.

In Cotonou, La Francophonie took an important step by officially supporting the principle of a legal instrument to protect and promote cultural diversity (Cotonou Declaration), a novel contribution to the ongoing international debate on our collective capacity to counter the detrimental effects of globalization. La Francophonie, with Canada's support, further endorsed this approach during the Francophonie Summit in Beirut (October 18 to 20, 2002) which, incidently, focused on the dialogue between cultures. Indeed, the Beirut Declaration (available only in French) announces La Francophonie's will to contribute working towards the adoption of an International Convention on Cultural Diversity, which is presently prepared at UNESCO.

The International Francophonie Directorate works closely with the International Relations and Policy Development Directorate.