A statement issued by the French Embassy in Ghana and copied to the Ghana News Agency, said the opening ceremony of the 2018 Francophonie Festival would be held on Saturday, March 10, at the Alliance Française in Accra.

It said in attendance at the opening ceremony, would be Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Minister of Education and the Francophone Ambassadors in Ghana.The statement said this year, Caribbean music sensation, Dominik Coco, accompanied by his Kako band from Guadeloupe would launch the festivities with an opening concert.

It said like previous years, the Francophone Embassies in Ghana together with Alliance Française Accra were organizing various events to celebrate the Francophonie.The statement said its cultural and linguistic diversity would be honored in a laid back and joyful atmosphere: concerts, a job application skills workshop, sporting events, film screening, debates, French competitions and a stand-up comedy.

It said the Francophonie International Day is celebrated on the 20th of March every year all over the world.It noted that since 2006, Ghana had had the status of associated member within the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF in French).It said the Francophone community in Ghana commends the tremendous efforts the Ghanaian Government was making to improve regional integration through the development of the French language across the country.

It said on February 1, this year, the Council of Francophone ambassadors in Ghana called on by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the Presidency.It said during the meeting, a number of proposals geared towards the development of French and La Francophonie in Ghana were tabled for discussion, which include building of international media partnerships with the Ministry of Communication and continuous support for government’s initiatives in education and cooperation in pivotal sectors including culture, sports, security, economic relations and the public service.

The rest are reinforcement of relations between Ghana and the International Organisation of La Francophonie through the establishment of a linguistic pact, Ghana’s accession to other OIF bodies such as the Francophonie Universities’ Agency (AUF) and the International Association of Francophone Mayors (AIMF), as well as the hosting of a major OIF event in the country.Others are strengthening of Francophonie at the institutional level in Ghana.

The statement said the Francophonie Festival in Ghana therefore, represents a unique opportunity to meet francophone or ‘francophile’ persons and develop partnerships with the francophone communities.The term “Francophonie” refers to all of the states and governments worldwide who share the French language.

The International Organisation of La Francophonie, created in 1970, represents one of the biggest linguistic zones in the world.Its mission is to embody the active solidarity between its 84 member states and governments (58 members and 26 observers), which together represent over one-third of the United Nations’ member states and account for a population of over 890 million people, including 274 million French speakers.

IOF organises political activities alongside the four main objectives which it has been assigned: to promote the French language, cultural and linguistic diversity, to promote peace, democracy and Human Rights, to support education, training, higher education institutions and research and to foster cooperation in favour of sustainable development.Its head office is in Paris, France, with regional offices all over the world, including one in Togo.

21 member countries of the OIF have a diplomatic representation in Ghana: Belgium, Benin, Burkina Faso, Canada, Czech Republic, Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, France, Gabon, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Lebanon, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, Switzerland, and Togo.