A strong and thoughtful voice
MICHAËLLE JEAN would make a wonderful secretary-general of the Francophonie and would be the group’s first female leader
It was recently confirmed that the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean is officially in the running to succeed former Senegalese president Abdou Diouf for the position of secretary general of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF). The elections will take place in November at the 15th summit of the Francophonie in Senegal, which will convene around the theme “Femmes et Jeunes en Francophonie: vecteurs de paix, acteurs de développement” (Women and youth in the Francophonie: Vectors of peace, actors for development).
This is terrific news. Canada should be trumpeting Jean’s candidacy for the OIF far and wide. Here’s why:
In 1970, the Agency for Cultural and Technical Co-operation (ACTC) was established with the goal of fostering political and economic solidarity among French-speaking people across the globe. It was later renamed the Intergovernmental Agency of La Francophonie, before adopting its present name in 2005. Today, the OIF has 57 member states and 20 observers, spread out across five continents. Its initiatives include the promotion of solidarity, democracy and technological advancement.
If elected, Jean would be the first female leader of the OIF. She would be responsible for highlighting the role of women and youth in the French-speaking world, while also focusing on the economic development of the Franco- phonie. A bigger challenge will be addressing the human rights abuses of certain member states, as well as responding to a chorus of voices — including those of Canada and France — questioning the fundamental relevance of an international organization founded on linguistic ties that are essentially the legacy of French colonialism.
No small task. But for all its problems, the OIF remains an important international structure — one that Jean is well positioned to move forward.
Jean was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in 1957. She and her family immigrated to Canada in 1968, fleeing the dictatorial regime of François “Papa Doc” Duvalier. They settled in Thetford Mines, Que., where she was raised in a nationalist, francophone milieu.
After years of study in Quebec and Europe and a successful career as a journalist, in 2005, she was offered — and accepted — the post of the Queen’s representative for Canada, becoming the first black woman in the history of the country to do so.
From the outset of her appointment as Governor General, Jean — an immigrant who is fluent in five languages (French, English, Italian, Spanish and Creole) — seemed to embody the ongoing linguistic and political tensions between and within Canada and Quebec.
Her appointment generated controversy almost immediately. She rankled Quebec nationalists who saw her as one of their own, and drew suspicion from Crown loyalists who believed she was a closet sovereignist. There were even calls from both sides for her to reveal how she voted in the 1995 referendum. She took no heed.
Yet, during her tenure as the Queen’s representative, Jean emerged as a strong voice for francophones across Canada, both within and outside of Quebec.
This did not always sit well with everyone.
And back in 2008, Jean was criticized when, during an official visit to France, she encouraged the French to remember that there were over one million francophones living outside of Quebec who, like the Québécois, struggle to maintain their French language and culture.
What Jean did then — and continues to do today — is unsettle the idea of a presumed or closed loyalty within the clichéd two solitudes of English Canada and French Quebec.
Since her time as Governor-General, she and her husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, founded the Michaëlle Jean Foundation, which develops programs to inspire and empower at-risk youth in Canada through arts and culture. In April 2011, she was appointed by Diouf as the Grand Témoin de la Francophonie for the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games. Also in 2012, Jean agreed to serve as Chancellor of the University of Ottawa, the largest bilingual French/ English university in the world. In October, her fouryear term as the UNESCO special envoy to Haiti comes to a close.
Michaëlle Jean has proven herself to be a diplomatic stateswoman, a thoughtful advocate for the promotion of the French language in a multilingual world, and passionate about issues related to women, youth and social inequality at international, national and community levels. The federal government, the governments of Quebec and New Brunswick, and the government of Haiti have all endorsed Jean’s candidacy for the position of Secretary-General of the OIF.
Let me add my voice to those wishing her good luck in November.