At the Francophonie Summit in Djerba, Tunisia, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the following investments to support La Francophonie’s institutions, promote the French language and Francophone cultures, and advance key areas such as gender equality, peace and security, democracy, and human rights, particularly in African countries and Haiti.
Support for La Francophonie and promotion of the French language and Francophone cultures
Institutional support for the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF)
Funding: $20.8 million over four years
As a founding member and the second-largest donor to the OIF, Canada plays an important role within La Francophonie, notably through its long-term institutional support. The renewal of this funding is intended to provide ongoing support to implement the OIF’s mandate and programming in key areas, including inclusive governance and growth, promotion of the French language, strengthening democracy and human rights, education, and economic cooperation for sustainable development.
Institutional support for the Agence universitaire de la Francophonie
Funding: $2.4 million over four years
Canada is the second-largest donor to the Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) [university agency of La Francophonie], and supports it in carrying out its mandate and programming, which aim to facilitate cooperation and solidarity among Francophone academic institutions, primarily in Francophone countries in Africa, the Arab world, South-East Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Caribbean. This investment will help build the capacities of the AUF’s member institutions, improve access to higher quality education for learners in the South, and support professional training and research.
Additional contribution to the Francophonie-TV5MONDEplus fund
Funding: $200,000
Canada is renewing its support for the Francophonie-TV5MONDEplus fund with a goal of enriching the diversity of content on the TV5MONDEplus digital platform and supporting, promoting and broadcasting French-language audiovisual works produced by or co‑produced with the South. This contribution builds on the $700,000 invested by Canada since the fund was created at Canada’s initiative in March 2021.
Support for sustainable development
Projects to support sustainable development in the Francophone Sahel
Funding: approximately $65 million
Canada is investing to support a variety of projects by sustainable development organizations to build resilience in the Sahel, particularly in Mali and Burkina Faso. Recipient projects focus on the empowerment of women and girls, good governance and democratic resilience, and socio-economic development. In particular, the projects will make it possible to:
- provide thousands of adolescent girls and young women with improved access to education and quality services relating to sexual health and reproductive rights;
- prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based violence against children, particularly through training, education and capacity building, and improve victim management and rehabilitation; and
- improve the socio-economic integration and well-being of refugees, displaced persons, and vulnerable populations in host communities in Mali, with specific support to address the needs of women.
ACTION project
Funding: $49.5 million
The Appuis ciblés aux terres irriguées et opportunités de nutrition [targeted support for irrigated land and nutrition opportunities] (ACTION) 2021-27 project is a food security initiative aimed at sustainably improving the economic, food and nutritional security of poor, rural populations in Mali that use local irrigation, notably women and youth. It is working in about a dozen areas in the regions of Koulikoro, Mopti and Kayes, and is being implemented by two German agencies, KfW and GIZ. The project will increase agricultural productivity and production in targeted regions.
Promoting peace, security, and democracy
Democracy in La Francophonie initiative
Funding: $10 million over two years
This initiative will help improve societies’ and governments’ resilience to disinformation, strengthen the coordination capacity of local pro-democracy movements, and empower women and other equity-seeking groups to address threats to their democratic rights. Canada will provide fast and flexible support to La Francophonie countries, the OIF, civil society organizations, human rights advocates and political activists so they can address new and emerging challenges that are threatening democracy and human rights. These include new authoritarian tactics, racial discrimination and the suppression of human rights.
Support for the Académie internationale de lutte contre le terrorisme (AILCT) in Côte d’Ivoire
Funding: $1.5 million over two years
A joint project of France and Côte d’Ivoire, the Académie internationale de lutte contre le terrorisme (AILCT) [international academy for the fight against terrorism] supports African countries in their counter-terrorism efforts through a leadership school, a military training facility and a research institute. Canada’s funding will strengthen the AILCT’s efforts to create a culture of counterterrorism in Africa and support its operations, including the costs of equipment and training supplies.
Response to the humanitarian and security crisis in Haiti
Humanitarian assistance to Haiti
Funding: $8 million
In response to the recent United Nations flash appeal to act on the humanitarian situation in Haiti, Canada is providing additional funding to its key humanitarian partners in the country in order to address the urgent needs of populations affected by the crisis, whether related to recent displacement, violence or the cholera epidemic. This funding will enable initiatives such as providing additional support:
- to the World Food Programme to deliver food and nutritional assistance;
- to the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service to facilitate assistance to remote and hard-to-reach areas;
- to the Pan American Health Organization to provide support in responding to cholera; and
- to the United Nations Children’s Fund to strengthen the water, sanitation and hygiene response.
This builds on $4.5 million in Canadian funding announced by Canada in 2022 to respond to humanitarian needs in Haiti.
Strengthening Haiti’s capacity to fight corruption and impunity
Funding: $5 million over three years
Canada is providing financial support to an initiative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, led in collaboration with the Organization of American States, which aims to strengthen the capacity of Haitian legal institutions to investigate, prosecute, and try cases involving corruption and economic crimes, money laundering and related offences, and to improve the sharing of information with international partners, including in Canada, on transnational organized crimes.
Access to justice and fighting impunity in Haiti
Funding: $3.5 million
Canada is extending and increasing its funding to this project from Lawyers Without Borders Canada, which aims to strengthen the legal and judicial services of civil society organizations and justice actors in order to assist victims of gender-based violence in particular. This new funding will allow for continued efforts to strengthen access to justice, address impunity and support the fight against corruption in light of the current crisis in Haiti. This funding brings Canada’s total contribution in support of this project since 2017 to $21.3 million.