Our Forums

In the ‘Paris of the Balkans’, the Bucharest Forum, 2006

The very first International Forum of Francophone Caravans was held in Lyon from 5 to 8 October 2006 and then in Bucharest from 10 to 12 October, as part of the 21st Francophonie Summit. The caravans taking part came from ten different territories and three different continents: Wallonia-Brussels in Belgium, Quebec in Canada, the Aosta Valley in Italy, the Rhône-Alpes region of France, Madagascar, Morocco, Poland, Romania, Senegal and Switzerland.

This project, born of a desire to create a genuine Francophonie of peoples, enabled thousands of French-speaking people to come together and reflect on the French language whilst collectively undertaking artistic initiatives.
At the conclusion of this first Forum, a manifesto, entitled “The Bucharest Appeal” (if possible, a hyperlink to the text of this appeal), was drafted and signed by all the participants. It reflects the desire to build on this momentum and calls on organisations and authorities within the Francophonie to support initiatives that are embedded in the daily lives of peoples who share the French language.

In the Land of the Maple, the Francophone World in Dialogue: the Quebec Forum, 2008

To mark the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue, European Caravan representatives gathered in Lyon from 1 to 5 October, with France holding the Presidency of the European Union in 2008. The second Forum of Francophone Caravans subsequently expanded to include twenty-five Caravans and continued in Quebec from 8 to 12 October, on the fringes of the 12th Francophonie Summit. With Quebec rapper Webster as its patron, this Forum enabled the Caravan participants to discuss issues relating to their shared profession and to highlight the cultural and linguistic distinctiveness of their Francophone regions.

Sessions for reflection and debate, open to the public, were also organised. The aim was to raise awareness amongst grassroots actors of the current policies and challenges facing institutional actors within the Francophonie, whilst also confronting the latter with the reality of the living and working conditions of citizens across the Francophonie. Three debates were held in Québec City, giving a platform to speakers from three continents and from a variety of backgrounds, ranging from academics to street rappers. The Forum also featured screenings of documentaries and short films attended by the directors, as well as public artistic performances – excellent opportunities to introduce the public to each artist’s work and to showcase the diversity of artistic practices and sources of inspiration!

The Travelling Caravan, the Montreux Forum 2010

Just like a real Tour de France caravan, the 3rd edition of the International Forum of Francophone Caravans made stops in around fifteen towns between Lyon and Montreux, where the 13th Francophonie Summit was being held! Endorsed by UNESCO as part of the 2010 Year of Cultural Dialogue, the project brought together some sixty artists and cultural activists from thirty-six territories, eighteen countries and four continents. A unique artistic journey to engage with the public, this 3rd Forum provided an opportunity to meet the residents of new towns and cities and to share with them discussions, debates, hands-on art workshops, screenings and performances centred on a shared experience: the Francophonie of the peoples. Setting off from Lyon on 8 October 2018, we travelled two thousand kilometres through the Rhône-Alpes region and seven Swiss cantons, passing through fifteen stopover towns, sometimes staying with local residents, and even in a nuclear fallout shelter, to offer citizens our artistic expression workshops and share wonderful moments of camaraderie with them.

The key theme of this forum was ‘encounter’ – an encounter between artists from five continents and residents of the regions they passed through, centred on the ten words chosen each year by French-speaking countries. There were also encounters with figures such as Boualem Sansal, an Algerian author; Wilfried N’Sondé, a Franco-German writer born in the Congo; and Geneviève Blais, a Quebec author. A show was also performed in each stopover town, written by Thierry Auzer, then director of the Théâtre des Asphodèles and the Caravane des dix mots, and performed by Léa Traversy and the artists of the Caravane, blending dance, slam poetry, projections and musical creations from the four corners of the world.

A crocodile and a heron bring peoples together: the Kinshasa Forum, 2012

“From the Rhône to the Congo River” was the theme of this 4th edition of the International Forum of Francophone Caravans, held in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, from 9 to 26 October 2012. In response to our book Manifesto for Linguistic Hospitality, published in February 2012 by Espace Pandora, the Forum addressed issues such as linguistic and cultural openness, cultural rights, the hospitality of the French language, and questions of migration, diversity, memory and transmission. In the DRC, there are three local “Caravanes” projects: two in Kinshasa and one in Lubumbashi – the M Majuscule theatre, AB Communication and the Katanga-Alliance Française in Lubumbashi. The Francophonie Summit in Kinshasa provided an opportunity to showcase and raise awareness of the artistic initiatives undertaken by these teams.

This Forum was a festive and convivial occasion thanks to our original artistic programme and cultural events, such as a street performance (“Les fleuves”) featuring giant Franco-Congolese puppets, specially designed by Les Caravaniers for the occasion and staged daily at the Village de la Francophonie. This show was the result of an artistic collaboration between the Lyon-based puppeteer and circus artist Amaury Jacquot and the Kinshasa-based puppeteer Widjo Wiyombo, with the support of Maurizio Moretti from the Compagnie des Grandes Personnes. Spectacularly symbolising the confluence of the two rivers, it explores, in an imaginative and visual way, the themes of water and its management, the river communities, and the meeting of peoples and cultures, through two 4-metre-tall puppets: the crocodile, representing the River Congo, and the heron, representing the River Rhône, surrounded by a lively procession. A festive and creative occasion, this forum provided an opportunity to use language and art as vehicles for the imagination and as tools for building connections, revealing the perspectives that communities hold of themselves and of others.

Celebrating Senghor, keeping the Francophonie alive: the Dakar Forum, 2014

It is in the land of Téranga – the land of hospitality – that the Caravane is holding its 5th International Forum of Francophone Caravans, to coincide with the 15th Francophonie Summit in Dakar, from 17 to 30 November 2014.

During these eleven days of ‘Francophonie des peuples en action’, twenty Francophone artists and cultural figures gathered in the Senegalese capital to showcase the open and creative Francophonie they champion, through training sessions, artistic workshops, open-air documentary film screenings and meetings, notably with Boualem Sansal, an Algerian writer, and Wajdi Mouawad, a Quebec playwright. The artistic workshops were organised in partnership with socio-cultural centres in Dakar, for an audience consisting mainly of children and teenagers. We were delighted to welcome the slam poet Moustapha from Africulturban, also known as Sall Ngaary, and the Senegalese rapper Matador. To mark our performance of “Le réveil des énergies dormantes” (The Awakening of Dormant Energies), paying tribute to the founding father of La Francophonie, Léopold Sédar Senghor, Gaël Faye, a Franco-Rwandan singer-songwriter and writer, who was invited as our patron, gave a wonderful concert, accompanied by Matador.

Through our street performances, which encourage active audience participation, and our procession of giant puppets – including our new mascot, the Lion of Dakar – we went out to meet the people of Dakar, proudly upholding our values of intercultural dialogue and shared creativity.

Graffiti on the walls of the Antananarivo Forum, 2016

Ten years of International Forums already! Ten years of helping to build a Francophonie of the peoples, driven by civil society actors.
The 2016 edition of the 16th Francophonie Summit took place in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar – a territory of great importance and symbolic significance for the Francophonie, and for the Caravane. It is the country where one of the first international ‘Caravane des dix mots’ tours took place, organised by the Compagnie Miangaly between 2006 and 2010. During this 6th Forum, held between 22 and 25 November 2016, the Caravan ran fourteen artistic expression workshops, in close collaboration with local institutional, artistic and educational partners, involving 125 children and teenagers across six venues and NGOs in the city. Thus, working with a group of children aged 7 to 14 from the NGO and day centre Graines de Bitume, South African singer Philomène Rust and Madagascan slam poet Miss Tic took a Madagascan lullaby as their starting point, reworking it to draw inspiration from the ‘Ten Words’ of the 2016 edition. Leaving behind a colourful mural on the centre’s walls, the children have immortalised the memories of a collective adventure where words and cultures came together.

Our presence at the Village de la Francophonie was also highlighted by our traditional parade of giant puppets: our totems, the Kinshasa Crocodile and the Dakar Lion, were accompanied by two lemurs, created especially for this 6th Malagasy Forum by the artist Tolotra Solomanana. Brought to life by Luciano Tombo, Jocelyn Jaomazava and Jacques Joseph, our puppets danced every day and delighted the audience. Our programme featured numerous performers who, during the Forum Festival, put on wonderful concerts: these included the singers Philomène Rust (South Africa) and Abdoul Aziz Koné (Mali), the storyteller Karim Zongo (Ivory Coast) and the slam poet Casimir Harel (Rodrigues). Throughout this year’s event, 750 people were able to attend our workshops and artistic performances. The assembled Caravaniers, hailing from eleven different countries, also drafted the Tana Appeal – a renewal of the first Bucharest Appeal launched in 2006 – which emphasises the need to support cultural action projects that respect cultural rights and to create the conditions for balanced exchanges amongst Francophones. It is addressed to the general public with a view to mobilising civil society actors, French-speaking citizens, the media and official representatives of French-speaking states and governments. On this occasion, we met the then President of the French Republic, François Hollande; Mireille Rakotomalala, Chair of the ‘Projects and Partnerships’ Committee of the General Organising Delegation for this 16th Francophonie Summit; André Vallini, Secretary of State for Development and La Francophonie attached to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Development; and Christine St Pierre, Quebec’s Minister for International Relations and La Francophonie, amongst others.

When the Pomegranate Scatters Words: the Yerevan Forum, 2018

The 7th International Forum of the ‘Caravane des dix mots’ took place in Yerevan, Armenia, from 2 to 12 October 2018 as part of the 17th Francophonie Summit.
In Armenia, the ‘Caravane des dix mots’ has been run since 2010 by SPFA, which organises creative expression workshops to provide an introduction to French through a cultural approach to the language in eight cities across the country. Over the course of ten days, twenty-seven French-speaking artists from around the world and twelve Armenian artists brought the diversity of the French language to life and shared it with others, criss-crossing the streets of Gyumri (Armenia’s second-largest city) and Yerevan, the capital. The highlight of their tour was the Village de la Francophonie, which they brought to life with parades of giant puppets in the colours of French-speaking countries; this year, a pomegranate – the symbol of Armenia – was added to the display.

Around thirty workshops were held in Gyumri, Ashotsk and Maissian – two rural municipalities – and in Yerevan, in schools, learning centres, universities and public spaces, with the aim of raising awareness among Armenians of all ages about cultural and linguistic diversity, drawing on various disciplines such as theatre, beatboxing, dance, visual arts, writing and slam poetry. 400 young people and adults took part in these workshops, and hundreds of passers-by attended the Caravan’s public events, particularly the puppet parades. This Forum also enabled the Caravan members gathered there to reflect together on their shared project, identify new strategies and develop collective solutions to the challenges facing a Francophonie of peoples in which all citizens have a role to play.

The Caravan hits the road again: the Djerba Forum, 2022

Having been postponed several times due to the health situation, the 8th International Forum of Francophone Caravans took place in Djerba, as part of the 18th Francophonie Summit, from 14 to 20 November 2022. This Forum was originally conceived as a travelling event in 2020, setting off from Lyon and travelling by boat to Tunis, via several stop-off points such as Valence, Avignon and Marseille, where artistic workshops and performances were to have taken place. Due to health restrictions, the Forum’s events were ultimately concentrated around the Village de la Francophonie.

As at previous International Forums of the Francophone Caravans, the caravanners paraded with their large puppets, decked out in the colours of the French-speaking countries, joined by the Gazelle of Djerba, accompanied by volunteers trained to operate these puppets. Furthermore, during the organised conferences, we were able to present our First Languages Biennial, which took place in Lyon from 19 to 22 May 2022, as well as our initiatives and our international network. Following the evolution of the Caravane des dix mots’ approach, we offered, in addition to artistic workshops, participatory educational workshops aimed at schoolchildren and the general public in the village. Thanks to contacts established over many months with private and state schools in Djerba, modules were organised for pupils of different levels, based on those previously implemented by the Caravane, focusing on the Francophonie and the diversity of the French language (‘Am I a Francophone?’) and on linguistic and cultural diversity (‘Thinking about and exploring languages’). Thus, despite an initial setback, the Caravaniers managed to come together to stage artistic and festive events, and to share their knowledge, their imaginations and their world views with artists from all over the world!

Une Belle Échappée, the 9th International Caravan Forum, 2024

In 2024, we had a dream, a utopian vision: to promote the Francophonie across France! Seizing the unique opportunity presented by the 19th Francophonie Summit being held in France, we wanted to travel through eight departments and four regions to give a voice to a truly people-centred Francophonie. The 9th International Forum of the Francophone Caravans, known as La Belle Échappée, would have been a journey across the country, from Lyon to the Château de Villers-Cotterêts – home to the Cité internationale de la langue française – via Vienne, Chalon-sur-Saône and Montreuil. Just as we did during our journey at the 3rd Forum, which took us as far as Montreux, we wanted to give a voice to citizens, to ask them about their relationship with French and the many languages that enrich it, and thus to foster a better understanding of what it means to be Francophone, by organising workshops, games and artistic events in collaboration with local stakeholders and our caravanners from all over the world.

Ultimately, following a series of unforeseen events, our 9th Forum took place during European Heritage Days, as part of the 7th edition of the Music’ly festival – a multidisciplinary festival organised by students from UCLy and various degree programmes related to the cultural sector, in close collaboration with the University and the Debussy Quartet. We were able to organise various workshops, led by Didier Martin, Maud Dubief and Antoine Louisgrand, focusing on linguistic diversity and artistic expression. On the evening of 21 September 2024, during a concert featuring Francophone artists, we welcomed Jacques Toublon, former Minister for Culture, who led a discussion on the Francophonie.