The
parliamentary delegation of the Canadian Branch, which attended the meeting of
the Education, Communication and Cultural Affairs Committee of the Assemblée
parlementaire de la Francophonie (APF) in Brussels, Belgium, from March 29
to 31, 2012, has the honour of presenting its report. The delegation was
composed of Bernard Trottier, MP.
The
following branches were represented at the meeting: Belgium / French Community
/ Wallonia-Brussels, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Chad,
Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, France, Gabon, Georgia, Hungary, Jura,
Lebanon, Quebec, Romania, Senegal, Switzerland, Valle d’Aosta and Wallis.
Start of
meeting
Once the
meeting agenda and the minutes of the Committee’s previous meeting were
approved, Didier Berberat, Member (Switzerland) and Chair of the
Committee, presented the activity report of the Education, Communication and
Cultural Affairs Committee.
Dr. Omar
Ndoye, Member (Senegal) and Rapporteur on HIV/AIDS-related issues,
presented the activity report of the Parliamentary Network to Fight HIV/AIDS.
Cultural
Francophonie, Economic Francophonie: antagonism or complementarity
Henriette
Martinez, Member (France), presented the report,
whose conclusions highlighted the need for the Francophonie to draw on its many
available resources in order to invest in the economic sector.
Issues
involving educational systems in our societies undergoing socio-economic and
cultural transformations
This study
by the Committee was discussed. Bernard Trottier took part in the
discussion, pointing out that in Canada, education is within provincial
jurisdiction. He added that the federal government supports the provinces by
subsidizing linguistic minority education from kindergarten to post-secondary.
Reference
guide on the use of French in international organizations
The
Committee heard from Isabelle Durant, Vice President of the European
Parliament; Mihnea Motoc, Ambassador and Romania’s permanent representative
at the European Union and President of the Francophone ambassadors’ group in
Brussels; Pietro Sicuro, Ambassador and OIF permanent representative to
the European Union in Brussels; Frédéric Bouilleux, Director, OIF
French Language and Cultural and Linguistic Diversity Directorate; Cristian
Dan Preda, Branch President of the European Union Francophone Forum; and Philippe
Étienne, Ambassador and French permanent representative to the European
Union, all of whom spoke on the issue.
While
highlighting the initiatives brought forward by La Francophonie to promote the
use of French in international forums, the Committee expressed concern over the
lack of guidelines for diplomats and staff from a number of countries in La
Francophonie for fulfilling the obligations in the reference guide. The
Committee reiterated that these guidelines are to be set out and followed.
Convention
on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions
Bertrand
St-Arnaud, Member (Quebec) and Rapporteur,
presented a draft report.
Frédéric
Bouilleux, Director, OIF French Language and
Cultural and Linguistic Diversity Directorate, took part in the ensuing
discussion and announced that the OIF would be organizing parliamentarian
training sessions to be given in Gabon, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Niger.
Awareness
of sustainable development
Yves
Reinkin, Member (Belgium / French Community /
Wallonia-Brussels) and Committee Vice President, presented a draft report.
Renée-Paule
Blochet, Chargée de mission at the Académie de la
Savoie and President of the Amis du Circée; Jacqueline Charron,
Secretary of the Amis du Circée; Jean-Michel Lex, sustainable
development awareness project coordinator at the Institut Robert Schuman
d’Eupen; Maryse Clary, honorary lecturer at the Institut universitaire
de formation des maîtres, Aix-Marseille, and specialist in environmental
education for sustainable development and youth engagement, all took part in
the ensuing discussion.
Over a dozen
branches contributed to the discussion. At the conclusion of these discussions,
the Committee decided to table a resolution at the plenary session of the APF
recommending that the APF focus on awareness about sustainable development.
For more
information about this meeting, please visit: http://apf-francophonie.org/spip.php?article436
(in French only).
By attending
this Committee meeting, the Canadian Branch achieved its objectives of
fulfilling its international obligations, maintaining international connections
and promoting its interests.
Respectfully submitted,
Bernard Trottier, M.P.
Member of the Canadian Branch of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie (APF)