On March 20,
the UN celebrates French Language Day.
United Nations Language Days were introduced in 2010
to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity.
The UN celebrates six
“Language Days” every year, dedicated to the six official languages of the United Nations, which
are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
These days are an opportunity to make the international
community aware of the history, culture and use of each of these languages.
The date of French Language Day was chosen symbolically with
reference to March 20, 1970, which marked the creation of the Agency for
Cultural and Technical Cooperation (ACCT), which became the International
Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) .
Multilingualism,
more fundamental than ever
To emerge from the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and
build back better, it will be necessary to continue to adopt an approach
mobilizing all components of societies, all public authorities and the whole
world in a spirit of compassion and solidarity. . An essential factor in
harmonious communication between peoples, multilingualism is more than ever of
particular importance for the United Nations because it promotes tolerance and
ensures the effective participation of all in the Organization's work process.
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, when physical presence
was drastically reduced at United Nations Headquarters and other conference
centers around the world, the language, translation and interpretation services
of the Department of the General Assembly and conference management quickly
adapted their working methods and never ceased to assume their essential role
as guarantors of multilingualism. French language learning and courses at the
UN have continued, remotely.
All content produced and
distributed in French by the teams of the Global Communication Departmentbased
in the four corners of the world have been maintained, doubling in efficiency
and precision in the face of an overabundance of information, sometimes false
or misleading.
The COVID-19 pandemic has
also caused the most severe disruption in history to global education systems,
keeping more than 1.6 billion learners in more than 190 countries out of school
at the height of the crisis. crisis, according to the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The immediate
effects of the pandemic have also been disastrous on the lives of young people
(18-29) in terms of employment, education, mental well-being, rights and social
activism, according to the International Organization of Labor (ILO).
According to the Observatory of the French language , there
are 132 million learners of and in French in the world. Among 300 million
French speakers on the five continents, the vast majority in many countries are
under 30 years old.
"The Francophonie of the
future"
March 20 is recognized by the International Organization of
La Francophonie (OIF) as the International Day of La Francophonie. The United
Nations cooperates regularly with the OIF and its Member States in the spirit
of the provisions of the resolutions on
cooperation with the OIF adopted
periodically by the General Assembly. In 2022, the OIF wishes to register the
celebrations of the International Day of La Francophonie under the theme
"La Francophonie of the future" .
#UN
#FUTURE #FRENCH #HWPL #PEACE #IWPG #WARP_OFFICE
#NO_WAR
#IPYG #DPCW_1038
May joy abound in a world free from war and conflict. Peace is the greatest gift.
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