Juliana Lumumba Wants Francophonie to Empower Africa’s Youth

Congolese candidate Juliana Amato Lumumba says the future of La Francophonie will depend on how well it prepares young Africans for the digital economy.

Speaking to TV5Monde, Lumumba said French should not only remain a language of culture and education. She wants it to become a stronger tool for innovation, entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence and employment.

Her proposal includes a €176 million four-year digital programme covering 20 pilot countries. The plan would train 100,000 students and 30,000 teachers and trainers in areas such as digital technology, AI, engineering, content creation and entrepreneurship.

Lumumba also called for African languages, including Lingala, Swahili, Bambara, Arabic and Creole,to be better represented in digital platforms and artificial intelligence systems.

With most future French speakers expected to live in Africa, she argued that the continent’s young population must be placed at the centre of the OIF’s next strategy.

Her message was that, La Francophonie should move beyond speeches and give young people the skills, tools and opportunities needed to build their future.