The Fondation Chirac was launched by former French President
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...
, after having served two terms in office between 1995 and 2007.
Since 2008, this foundation strives for peace through five
advocacy
Advocacy is an Action (philosophy), activity by an individual or advocacy group, group that aims to influence decision making, decisions within political, economic, and social institutions. Advocacy includes activities and publications to infl ...
programmes:
*
conflict prevention
*
access to water and sanitation
* access to quality medicines and healthcare
* access to land resources
* and preservation of
cultural diversity
Cultural diversity is the quality of diverse or different cultures, as opposed to Monoculturalism, monoculture. It has a variety of meanings in different contexts, sometimes applying to cultural products like art works in museums or entertainment ...
It supports field projects involving local people with innovative solutions. The Fondation Chirac has also awarded the Prize for Conflict Prevention every year since 2009.
The foundation's stated priorities include combating falsified medicines,
deforestation
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...
and
desertification
Desertification is a type of gradual land degradation of Soil fertility, fertile land into arid desert due to a combination of natural processes and human activities.
The immediate cause of desertification is the loss of most vegetation. This i ...
, and helping to preserve
endangered languages
An endangered language or moribund language is a language that is at risk of disappearing as its speakers die out or shift to speaking other languages. Language loss occurs when the language has no more native speakers and becomes a " dead langua ...
and cultures. The "Sorosoro programme" took its name from an Araki word for "breath, speech, language". The endangered
Araki language
Araki is a nearly extinct language spoken in the small island of Araki, south of Espiritu Santo Island in Vanuatu. Araki is gradually being replaced by Tangoa, a language from a neighbouring island.
Name
The name ''Araki'' comes from the Tama ...
, in
Vanuatu
Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...
, was spoken by then by only eight people, and the programme's stated objective was to "participate actively in the struggle for the preservation and revitalisation of these endangered languages".
The foundation was directed from its creation until 2013 by Catherine Joubert. Facing difficulties, the foundation must in 2012 leave its premises on rue d'Anjou and thank the staff, except Marc-Antoine Jasson, currently the only employee. At the same time, Claude Chirac and
Alain Juppé
Alain Marie Juppé (; born 15 August 1945) is a French politician. A member of The Republicans, he was Prime Minister of France from 1995 to 1997 under President Jacques Chirac, during which period he faced major strikes that paralysed the c ...
joined the board of directors.
History
The Foundation was officially launched on June 9, 2008, at the
Quai Branly Museum
A wharf ( or wharfs), quay ( , also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths ( ...
in Paris,
"La fondation Jacques Chirac officiellement lancée"
''Le Nouvel Observateur'', 9 March 2008 with the attendance of most of its Honour Committee's members, such as:
* Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan (8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder a ...
, former UN Secretary-General and Nobel Peace Prize.
* Andrés Pastrana Arango
Andrés Pastrana Arango (born 17 August 1954) is a Colombian politician who was the 30th President of Colombia from 1998 to 2002, following in the footsteps of his father, Misael Pastrana Borrero, who was president from 1970 to 1974.
Early ...
, former President of Colombia.
* , former President of Senegal.
* Ely Ould Mohamed Vall
Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall ( ''I‘lī Wald Muḥammad Fāl''; 1953 – 5 May 2017) was a Mauritanian political and military figure. Following a coup d'état in August 2005, he served as the transitional military leader of Mauritania unti ...
, former President of Mauritania.
* Rajendra Kumar Pachauri
Rajendra Kumar Pachauri (20 August 1940 – 13 February 2020) was the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) from 2002 to 2015, during the fourth and fifth assessment cycles. Under his leadership the IPCC was awarded t ...
, former chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations. Its job is to "provide governments at all levels with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies". The World Met ...
.
* Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Guatemalan Nobel Peace Prize.
* Youssou N'Dour
Youssou N'Dour (, ; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' described him as, "perhaps the m ...
, artist, Minister of Tourism and Culture of Senegal.
References
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Foundations based in France
Jacques Chirac
Organizations established in 2008