France: AFD celebrates its 80th anniversary in full reflection on its name and positioning

The director of the French Development Agency (AFP) Rémy Rioux, here in a speech at the Quai Branly museum, December 6, 2016. AP - Eric Feferberg

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2 min

While the French Development Agency (AFD) celebrates its 80th anniversary, Thursday, December 2, the body is entering a cycle of reflection initiated in particular by the Montpellier summit in October.

At a time when many are waiting for a request to renew the positioning of France and AFD, a few project leaders are meeting in Paris during the anniversary ceremony of this organization.

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Urban gardens, children's clubs, recycling, composting ... Sélima Mechkene explains her urban nursery project in Tunisia for the redevelopment of public spaces in disadvantaged neighborhoods:

For the urban nursery project, the projects are already designed by the inhabitants and they are carried out by the inhabitants. So it's really the residents who choose what they want to have in their neighborhoods. AFD is providing technical and financial support. So we are working in partnership. We have never had a problem with the type of project to implement or the neighborhoods where we operate. So, we feel that even the inhabitants see it as an advantage that they are the ones who choose their project.

For Andreata Muforo, a Zimbabwean living in Kenya whose company supports entrepreneurs in the social and solidarity sector, the important thing is to

 : “ 

 "

The principle of official development assistance is currently being discussed.

A reflection is being carried out to readjust the efforts towards investments which would like more solidarity.

A name change and " 

new vocabulary

 "

Created under the name Caisse centrale de la France libre in 1941, the public financial institution could change its name again in the coming months, 80 years after its launch.

Or a project in the

, which also includes an overhaul of its operation and its development policy, which " 

 ", according to its director Rémy Rioux.

We are at this somewhat strange, but fascinating moment, when the words which qualify our action and more broadly at the global level this development policy seem unsuitable in relation to our experience, to what we are living. There was a big gap that took place in 2015 with the Paris Climate Agreement, and with the Sustainable Development Goals. And we are gradually in the process of incorporating and deploying this message which, at one point, will go through a new vocabulary, a new lexicon, which will no longer be a lexicon ultimately of separation. Sometimes it's the reproach that is still made against us, sometimes a lexicon a little bit dominating. But, really a common lexicon, a shared lexicon. And we don't have it yet. This is the work that must absolutely be launched. At one point,the President of the Republic said it in Montpellier: this will undoubtedly involve the change of name of AFD. The Montpellier summit was on October 8, so it was not even two months ago, I think it would not make sense to decree a new name for AFD without this dialogue, this exchange… We have something to elucidate in fact which is not yet clear. It takes a little while to get there

AFD has "sometimes" used "a lexicon of domination", admits its director Rémy Rioux

Pierre Firtion

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