The ''Agence universitaire de la Francophonie'' (AUF; en, Association of

Francophone French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...

Universities) is a global network of French-speaking higher-education and research institutions. Founded in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...

, Canada in 1961, as the ''Association des Universités Partiellement ou Entièrement de Langue Française'' (AUPELF),''Agence universitaire de la Francophonie, History''
the AUF is a multilateral institution supporting co-operation and solidarity among French-speaking universities and institutions. It operates in French-speaking and non-speaking countries of Africa, the

Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

and the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

and

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

. As of 2020, the AUF has 1,007 members (public and private universities, institutes of higher education, research centers and institutions, institutional networks, and networks of university administrators) distributed throughout francophone countries on six continents. It is active in 119 countries, and represented by regional offices and information centers on campuses and in institutes. The Association receives funding from the

Organisation internationale de la Francophonie The (OIF; sometimes shortened to the Francophonie, french: La Francophonie , but also called International Organisation of in English-language context) is an international organization representing countries and regions where French is a ...

(OIF), and its headquarters are located at the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte- ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

History

Origins

In 1959, Jean-Marc Léger (Canadian journalist at ''

Le Devoir ''Le Devoir'' (, "Duty") is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and throughout Canada. It was founded by journalist and politician Henri Bourassa in 1910. ''Le Devoir'' is one of few independent large-c ...

'') and André Bachand (public-relations director at the University of Montreal) voiced the idea of a worldwide organisation which would create a link between French-speaking universities. On 13 September 1961 in Montreal, some 150 representatives of the French-speaking world created the foundation of what would become ''Association des Universités Partiellement ou Entièrement de Langue Française'' (AUPELF), French for the "Association of Partially or Entirely French-speaking Universities." From 1972 to 1975,

Robert Mallet Robert Mallet (3 June 1810 – 5 November 1881) was an Irish geophysicist, civil engineer, and inventor who distinguished himself in research on earthquakes and is sometimes called the father of seismology. His son, Frederick Richard Mallet was ...

chaired the board of directors of AUPELF.

Expansion

In 1987, during the heads of state summit in Quebec, an "exchange university" project was implemented under the name UREF (''Université des Réseaux d'Expression Français'', University French Expression Networks). Its purpose was to create a university network for research and education. In November 1993, AUPELF became ''AUPELF-UREF''. In April 1998, in Beirut, AUPELF-UREF became the ''Agence universitaire de la Francophonie''.

Reforms

To answer the

Moncton Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the Maritime Provinces. The city has earned the nickname "Hub City" because of ...

action plan's request, the AUF undertook reforms in three fields in 1999: * Modification of its status * Administration * Programmes In 2005, the AUF endowed a four-year program to meet the goals and priorities of the decennial strategic agreement of the institutional French-speaking world. This agreement, adopted in 2004 by member states of the French-speaking world, sets the principles and strategies of the institutional French-speaking world and controls its activities.

Structure

The association is composed of seven bodies: *General assembly: Main body of the AUF. Every four years, the 774 members of the association gather to decide goals and strategy for the four next years. It oversees the board of directors. *Association council: Enhances solidarity among higher-education and research institutions of the association, encouraging them to pursue relevant objectives *Board of directors: The management body, comprising university and government representatives *Scientific council: Decides the methodology of AUF programs and ensures their academic quality. Its members are selected for their technical and professional skills in culture, science and technology. *President: Elected by the general assembly for a single four-year term, they head the association council and board of directors. *Rector: Elected by the board of directors for a four-year term, their primary function is to implement financial commitments by higher-education and research institutions. *University development and co-operation fund: Administered by the rector

Activities

The primary activities of the AUF are distributed among four scientific administrations, each aiming at a specific goal. These four branches are: *Language and communication: Supports French-language development through instruction in the scientific disciplines; promotes multilingualism and cultural diversity by stimulating the production, spread and teaching of scientific knowledge in French. Coordinates research projects, training and curriculum reform in linguistics, culture, literature and education. Monitors meetings and scientific conferences, emphasizing publication (particularly online publication). Significantly, more than 2,250 specialists improve understanding of the French-speaking world and the impact of cultural and linguistic diversity on societies. *Economic development: Fundraising and public relations *Scientific skill reinforcement: Acts as liaison between scientific departments and regional offices. Administers French-speaking digital campuses and institutes in four-year cycles. Evaluates relations between the association and the French-speaking scientific community in the fields of the environment, water, energy, climate, sustainable development and well-being of populations; supports research. *Education: Supports communication and information technology in higher education and research; encourages digital development and offers training in the Technologies of Information and Communication (TICE) for teachers, students and staff.

Partnerships

The ''Agence universitaire de la Francophonie'' has developed partnerships with three objectives: *To establish more universities and giving them significant developmental roles *To develop ties between the AUF, its member institutions and developmental agencies (foundations,

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

s, territorial collectivities, etc.) *To increase development in the following ways: ** Place the association's knowledge at the disposal of the projects in question ** Promote scientific evaluation ** Use tools of university and scientific co-operation AUF numbers among its partners the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

and the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

. It has been requested to assist in: * Project management * Technical evaluations * Information technology and communication * Developmental networks

Publishing

In 2001, the ''Agence universitaire de la Francophonie'' facilitated the creation of electronic French-language science journals. Francophone digital campuses were created to support the development of TIC (technologies of information and communication). AUF conducts workshops on the presentation and publication of scientific articles. Financial support is available for selected projects.

AUF worldwide

The AUF's education office and headquarters are in Montreal; central services and a second education office are in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. Regional offices have been established in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of more than 2.8 million, the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,50 ...

Antananarivo Antananarivo ( French: ''Tananarive'', ), also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana, is the capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known as Antananarivo-Renivohitra ("Antananarivo-Mother Hill" or "A ...

, Hanoï,

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

and

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north o ...

.''Agence universitaire de la Francophonie, Regions''

Golden anniversary

2011 marked the 50th anniversary of the ''Agence universitaire de la Francophonie''. To mark the occasion AUF promoted the

Francophonie Francophonie is the quality of speaking French. The term designates the ensemble of people, organisations and governments that share the use of French on a daily basis and as administrative language, teaching language or chosen language. The t ...

throughout the year with events devoted to "50 years of the Agency", celebrating its role as an academic agent of the French-speaking scientific community.

Networks

Research

Lexicology Lexicology is the branch of linguistics that analyzes the lexicon of a specific language. A word is the smallest meaningful unit of a language that can stand on its own, and is made up of small components called morphemes and even smaller eleme ...

terminology Terminology is a group of specialized words and respective meanings in a particular field, and also the study of such terms and their use; the latter meaning is also known as terminology science. A ''term'' is a word, compound word, or multi-wo ...

translation Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

Sociolinguistics Sociolinguistics is the descriptive study of the effect of any or all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and context, on the way language is used, and society's effect on language. It can overlap with the sociology of ...

Erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is d ...

and

hydrology Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is call ...

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...

Demography Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings. Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as ed ...

Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...

Biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used ...

Health sciences The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to health sciences: Health sciences are those sciences which focus on health, or health care, as core parts of their subject matter. Health sciences relate to multiple a ...

Institutional

Veterinary medicine Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...

(AEEVTPLF) *

Management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activitie ...

(CIDEGEF) *

Medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

(CIDMEF) *

Pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...

(CIDPHARMEF) *

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

(CIFDUF) *

Engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

(CITEF) *

Journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (p ...

(Théophraste) *

Dentistry Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, disorders, and conditions of ...

(CIDCDF) *

Information sciences Information science (also known as information studies) is an academic field which is primarily concerned with analysis, collection, classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval, movement, dissemination, and protection of information. P ...

(AIESI) * Science and technology (CIRUISEF) *

Urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly th ...

(APERAU)

References

External links

*
50th-anniversary website

''Francophonia's Encyclopaedia''

''Francophonia's official website''
{{Authority control 1961 establishments in Quebec Educational institutions established in 1961 International organizations based in Canada Organisation internationale de la Francophonie Organizations based in Montreal