As Congo challenges Rwanda's incumbent candidate for the leadership of the Francophonie, Juliana Amato Lumumba is presenting nine reforms focused on peace, economic opportunity, youth and digital inclusion. But what would her programme change in practice?
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo — November 9, 2026 — With the 20th Francophonie Summit approaching in Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is seeking more than a change of leadership at one of the world’s major international organisations.
Its candidate, Juliana Amato Lumumba, has presented nine projects intended to redefine what the French-speaking world offers its citizens: easier movement for talent, stronger economic cooperation, digital and artificial-intelligence training, support for local languages, climate coordination and a new institution for conflict prevention.
The election will take place during a closed session of the Summit in Phnom Penh on November 16. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie says the winner will lead the institution for the 2027–2030 term.
For the DRC, the campaign is both national and institutional. President Félix Tshisekedi has mobilised Congo’s diplomatic machinery behind Lumumba, presenting her candidacy as an opportunity to build a Francophonie that defends peace and sovereignty while investing in young people, education and innovation. The Congolese Presidency describes her programme as a “Francophonie of the peoples, by the peoples and for the peoples.”
The central question is now practical: Can Lumumba convert that vision into measurable opportunities for millions of French speakers, especially young Africans seeking employment, education, mobility, digital access and peace?
A contest over the purpose of the Francophonie
The leadership race includes four candidates: Lumumba of the DRC; incumbent Secretary-General Louise Mushikiwabo of Rwanda; former Mauritanian minister Coumba Bâ; and former Romanian prime minister and European commissioner Dacian Cioloș.
Mushikiwabo is seeking a third term after leading the institution since 2019. Bâ presents herself as a candidate of unity and consensus. Cioloș is emphasising operational experience and the use of French as a language of economic opportunity. Lumumba’s distinguishing argument is that the OIF must become closer to ordinary citizens and more visibly useful in their lives.
This is why the Congolese campaign cannot be reduced to a contest between Kinshasa and Kigali. The regional context matters, particularly as the DRC has called for stronger international solidarity in defence of its territorial integrity and a more active Francophone voice for peace. But Lumumba has repeatedly stated that her candidacy is directed against neither a country nor an individual.
FRANCOPHONE
DR Congo's Juliana Lumumba Seeks to Reshape the Francophonie
9 nov. 2026
9 nov. 2026
22 min read
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As Congo challenges Rwanda's incumbent candidate for the leadership of the Francophonie, Juliana Amato Lumumba is presenting nine reforms focused on peace, economic opportunity, youth and digital inclusion. But what would her programme change in practice?
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo — November 9, 2026 — With the 20th Francophonie Summit approaching in Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is seeking more than a change of leadership at one of the world’s major international organisations.
Its candidate, Juliana Amato Lumumba, has presented nine projects intended to redefine what the French-speaking world offers its citizens: easier movement for talent, stronger economic cooperation, digital and artificial-intelligence training, support for local languages, climate coordination and a new institution for conflict prevention.
The election will take place during a closed session of the Summit in Phnom Penh on November 16. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie says the winner will lead the institution for the 2027–2030 term.
For the DRC, the campaign is both national and institutional. President Félix Tshisekedi has mobilised Congo’s diplomatic machinery behind Lumumba, presenting her candidacy as an opportunity to build a Francophonie that defends peace and sovereignty while investing in young people, education and innovation. The Congolese Presidency describes her programme as a “Francophonie of the peoples, by the peoples and for the peoples.”
The central question is now practical: Can Lumumba convert that vision into measurable opportunities for millions of French speakers, especially young Africans seeking employment, education, mobility, digital access and peace?
A contest over the purpose of the Francophonie
The leadership race includes four candidates: Lumumba of the DRC; incumbent Secretary-General Louise Mushikiwabo of Rwanda; former Mauritanian minister Coumba Bâ; and former Romanian prime minister and European commissioner Dacian Cioloș.
Mushikiwabo is seeking a third term after leading the institution since 2019. Bâ presents herself as a candidate of unity and consensus. Cioloș is emphasising operational experience and the use of French as a language of economic opportunity. Lumumba’s distinguishing argument is that the OIF must become closer to ordinary citizens and more visibly useful in their lives.
This is why the Congolese campaign cannot be reduced to a contest between Kinshasa and Kigali. The regional context matters, particularly as the DRC has called for stronger international solidarity in defence of its territorial integrity and a more active Francophone voice for peace. But Lumumba has repeatedly stated that her candidacy is directed against neither a country nor an individual.
In her formal ministerial hearing, published in full by XTRAfrica, she recognised Mushikiwabo’s service while arguing for a new chapter focused on solidarity, inclusion and practical results. The complete XTRAfrica English transcript shows that her appeal is built around institutional renewal rather than personal confrontation.
That positioning gives the DRC a broader case to make: the election should determine whether the OIF can turn its enormous linguistic and diplomatic network into a platform for employment, skills, investment, mobility and conflict prevention.
Why the DRC believes the institution must evolve
French is spoken by an estimated 396 million people across five continents. The OIF’s 2026 global language data identifies French as the world’s fourth most widely spoken language, the fourth language on the internet and the third language of economics and business.
Africa is the demographic centre of this community, and its youth will shape the future of the language. XTRAfrica previously examined this shift in “Juliana Lumumba: The Voice of a New Francophonie”, arguing that the 2026 election is also a decision about whether the OIF’s leadership and priorities will reflect the aspirations of its fastest-growing population.
The OIF already has a wide mandate. It promotes the French language and multilingualism, education, culture, democracy, human rights, economic cooperation and sustainable development. It also supports political mediation, electoral processes, institutional capacity and cooperation with regional organisations and the United Nations.
The problem Lumumba is trying to solve is therefore not the absence of a mandate. It is the distance between that mandate and what citizens can see, access and measure.
Her campaign asks whether a young entrepreneur in Kinshasa can find customers or finance through a Francophone network; whether a researcher in Dakar can move more easily to a laboratory in Montreal; whether artificial-intelligence tools can understand Lingala, Swahili, Bambara, Creole or Khmer; and whether the OIF can help prevent a dispute between member states before violence begins.
The nine projects — and what they would mean in practice
Lumumba calls her platform “Nine New Projects for a New Francophonie.” The proposals combine programmes the OIF could initiate under existing authority with larger ambitions that would require member-state agreements, additional financing or national legislation.
Project | Practical objective | What implementation would require |
Francophone intercultural encounters | Create a biennale bringing together cultures, creative industries, technology, food and music | OIF coordination, host countries, cultural partners, sponsors and an approved programme budget |
Intra-Francophone economic integration | Connect entrepreneurs, investors, industries, diasporas and markets | OIF business platforms plus trade, investment and regulatory decisions by member governments |
Promotion of “sister languages” | Protect local languages and include them in education, media and technology | Grants, linguistic data, research partnerships and cooperation with universities and technology companies |
Francophone Climate Pact | Coordinate expertise on resilient cities, agriculture, forests and climate finance | Member-state commitments, technical programmes and partnerships with climate-finance institutions |
Francophone visa and universal justice | Facilitate mobility for researchers, professionals, creators and students | Bilateral or multilateral immigration agreements; the OIF cannot issue national visas by itself |
Traditional medicine and ancestral pharmacopoeia research | Link traditional knowledge with modern scientific research | Universities, health regulators, ethical safeguards, clinical validation and protection of community knowledge |
Francophone Academy of Peace and Well-being | Train mediators and specialists in dialogue and conflict prevention | A host agreement, governance structure, sustainable funding and partnerships with regional organisations and the UN |
Inclusive digital transition | Expand digital skills, AI capacity, infrastructure and access to online knowledge | Large-scale financing, governments, telecom operators, universities and private technology partners |
Francophonie anthem | Create a shared cultural symbol for the Francophone community | Selection process and formal adoption by OIF member states |
The programme’s strength is its attempt to translate a linguistic community into a practical network. Its implementation would depend on matching every proposal with the institution that has the legal authority, money and operational capacity to deliver it.
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The Francophone visa: powerful idea, shared authority
The most immediately understandable proposal is the Francophone visa. Lumumba presents it as a way to reduce administrative barriers for talent, ideas and projects moving through the French-speaking world.
For Congolese students, academics, artists, engineers and entrepreneurs, easier mobility could expand access to training, professional networks, conferences, markets and investment. It could also make the Francophonie feel like a functioning community rather than a collection of countries linked mainly by summit declarations.
However, immigration authority remains with national governments. An OIF secretary-general could launch negotiations, define eligible categories, propose common standards, build political support and coordinate pilot agreements. The secretary-general could not independently order France, Canada, Morocco, Senegal, the DRC or another member to issue a new visa.
A realistic first phase could focus on limited categories: researchers, doctoral students, teachers, accredited entrepreneurs, cultural professionals and participants in official OIF programmes. Participating governments could then negotiate reciprocal arrangements, security checks and recognition of professional documentation.
The proposal is therefore achievable as a negotiated framework, but its success would be measured by how many governments join, which citizens qualify, how quickly applications are processed and whether the programme reduces real mobility barriers.
Turning a shared language into economic opportunity
Lumumba argues that the Francophonie should become a stronger economic space, supporting coproduction, entrepreneurship, investment and connections between businesses across continents.
Her economic case starts with scale. According to the OIF, its member countries account for around 20 percent of global merchandise trade, 16 percent of global gross national product and 14 percent of the world’s mineral and energy reserves. The organisation already organises commercial and economic missions and supports entrepreneurship and digital innovation.
What Lumumba proposes is to connect those existing activities more directly to jobs and business growth. XTRAfrica’s earlier report, “Juliana Lumumba Calls for an Economically Stronger Francophonie”, detailed her call for investment platforms, youth entrepreneurship, women-led businesses and greater recognition of the diaspora as an economic partner.
The secretary-general could use the OIF’s convening power to bring together chambers of commerce, development banks, incubators, cities, diasporas and investors. The organisation could create business-matching platforms, publish investment pipelines, support market access and expand economic missions.
The OIF could not, on its own, create a Francophone common market. Customs rules, taxes, standards, trade agreements and investment protections remain government responsibilities. The most credible version of Lumumba’s proposal is therefore a network that helps businesses use existing agreements and creates momentum for deeper cooperation among willing states.
For the DRC, this matters because the country wants to move beyond raw-material exports toward processing, manufacturing, technology and regional value chains. A more economically active Francophonie could connect Congolese projects to capital, expertise and markets across Africa, Europe, North America, the Caribbean and Asia.
Digital inclusion could become the most measurable reform
Lumumba’s digital agenda may offer the clearest opportunity to produce results within a four-year mandate. Her campaign links digital skills, artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship, education, local-language content and data sovereignty.
As XTRAfrica reported in its examination of her youth programme, the candidate has proposed a four-year digital initiative valued at €176 million, targeting 20 pilot countries, 100,000 students and 30,000 teachers and trainers. The training would cover digital technology, artificial intelligence, engineering, content creation and entrepreneurship.
The OIF already operates in this area. Its economic and digital directorate supports innovation, entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence and professional insertion, while the D-CLIC programme provides digital training for young Francophones. Lumumba’s proposal would therefore expand an existing institutional direction rather than create an entirely new function.
Implementation would require confirmed financing and clearly selected countries and institutions. But the programme could be tracked through public indicators: participants trained, certifications completed, women and underserved communities reached, businesses created, jobs obtained, local-language datasets produced and digital products launched.
Her proposed Francophone Alliance for Artificial Intelligence and Languages would address another important gap. Many digital tools perform poorly with African accents, expressions and languages because the required datasets are limited. The alliance could bring together universities, researchers, governments and technology companies to develop speech recognition, translation, educational content and public-interest AI tools adapted to Francophone societies.
That would make digital inclusion more than a connectivity promise. It would allow French and Africa’s “sister languages” to participate in the design of technology rather than simply consume systems developed elsewhere.
A peace academy with a defined institutional role
The Francophone Academy of Peace and Well-being is the proposal with the strongest connection to Congo’s current diplomatic priorities.
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Lumumba says the academy would train mediators, dialogue specialists and experts in preventing and resolving conflicts. During her formal hearing, she explained that it would work with regional organisations, actors on the ground and the United Nations. She also said the DRC had adopted the proposal and allocated $10 million in its next budget, with Congo prepared to host the institution. Her statement is available in XTRAfrica’s full transcript of the hearing.
The academy would not be a military or enforcement body. It would have no authority to impose a ceasefire, deploy peacekeepers or compel governments to accept mediation. Its value would lie in building expertise, preserving channels of dialogue, analysing risks, training negotiators and supporting mediation when the parties agree.
The OIF already has a peace, democracy and human-rights mandate. Its political and democratic-governance programme includes mediation, facilitation, support for peace agreements, electoral assistance and cooperation with the United Nations and regional bodies.
The academy would add value if it becomes a permanent operational centre rather than another general declaration. Its performance could be assessed through the number of trained mediators, early-warning assessments, requests for assistance, dialogue processes supported and partnerships established with the African Union, regional communities and the UN.
For the DRC, hosting such an institution would carry both practical and symbolic importance. A country that has endured decades of externally fuelled conflict would be helping build Francophone capacity for prevention, mediation and peaceful resolution.
What the secretary-general can actually control
The OIF secretary-general is powerful, but the position does not control member governments. The office directs the organisation’s political action, represents the Francophonie internationally, coordinates multilateral cooperation and presides over the Permanent Council of the Francophonie.
The secretary-general also proposes the distribution of the Francophonie’s Multilateral Single Fund. But the Ministerial Conference adopts the budget and the fund’s final distribution. Member states finance the organisation through statutory and voluntary contributions, while outside partners can support identified projects.
The OIF’s institutional profile reports a 2023 budget of €64.6 million and around 300 employees. That scale is substantial enough to coordinate specialised programmes, but not large enough to finance every infrastructure, mobility, climate and economic ambition across 90 states and governments without partnerships.
Lumumba acknowledged this limitation during her hearing. She proposed recovering unpaid contributions, increasing voluntary and earmarked funding, and working with the private sector, development banks and multilateral institutions on high-impact projects.
This leads to a practical division of responsibility:
The OIF could directly organise the intercultural biennale, digital programmes, language-data projects, research networks and mediator training once their budgets are approved.
The secretary-general could propose the academy, climate pact, economic platforms and visa framework, mobilise partners and negotiate support.
Member governments would still have to approve visas, trade measures, legal commitments, national funding and participation in any cross-border system.
The Summit and Ministerial Conference would decide major institutional and budgetary questions.
Lumumba would therefore be able to set direction and assemble coalitions, but delivery would depend on persuasive leadership and measurable partnerships.
Experience beyond the Lumumba name
Juliana Lumumba’s family history gives the campaign extraordinary symbolism. She is the daughter of Patrice Émery Lumumba, Congo’s first prime minister and one of Africa’s most enduring symbols of independence, sovereignty and continental dignity.
But the case for her candidacy is not based solely on that name. The Congolese Presidency highlights her experience as a former culture minister and former secretary-general of the Union of African Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Her career has crossed journalism, cultural policy, government, diplomacy and economic cooperation.
XTRAfrica previously assessed that record in “Juliana Lumumba Stands Out as Serious Contender for the OIF Leadership”, examining how her professional background supports a campaign that joins culture, sovereignty, economic cooperation and institutional reform.
Her candidacy also carries a deliberate message about the role of African leadership in a community whose demographic future is increasingly African. It presents Congo not simply as the largest Francophone population centre, but as a country seeking responsibility in shaping the institution’s direction.
The diplomatic campaign behind the programme
President Tshisekedi has committed the DRC’s diplomatic and political support to Lumumba’s campaign. Congolese officials have carried the message to capitals across Africa, Europe and North America.
XTRAfrica has tracked several stages of that effort, including the campaign for support in Chad, Lumumba’s outreach in Canada, and the official launch led by Prime Minister Judith Suminwa in Paris.
The campaign’s message is consistent: the DRC is not asking for symbolic recognition alone. It is proposing a leadership programme and arguing that the country’s demographic weight, diplomatic priorities and commitment to a more useful Francophonie justify serious consideration.
That does not guarantee victory. The election will be determined by the full members of the OIF, and diplomatic support is often kept private until the final closed session. But Congo has succeeded in placing its candidate and her programme at the centre of the institutional debate.
Tendances actuelles
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How the election will be decided in Cambodia
The 20th Francophonie Summit will take place in Phnom Penh on November 15 and 16. The formal election is scheduled for November 16 and will involve the 53 full members of the OIF.
Under the OIF’s election procedure, leaders first seek consensus. If consensus is not achieved, the rules allow a vote. The candidate receiving a simple majority of the full members present and voting is elected.
The procedure matters because this is the first campaign conducted under the full institutional reforms adopted in 2022. In June, all four candidates appeared before an extraordinary Ministerial Conference and presented their visions in formal hearings—an unprecedented transparency measure in the organisation’s 56-year history.
Each full member has one voice, regardless of population or economic size. Congo’s status as one of the largest French-speaking countries strengthens its political argument, but it does not give it additional votes. Victory will depend on the breadth of the coalition Lumumba and the Congolese diplomatic team have assembled across Africa, Europe, the Americas, the Caribbean and Asia.
What would make Lumumba’s programme succeed?
The strongest test would be whether the nine projects can be converted into a public four-year delivery plan soon after the election.
A credible implementation framework would need:
A timetable showing which projects begin in the first 100 days, first year and later phases.
A financing plan separating the OIF’s core budget, voluntary state contributions and external partnerships.
Named delivery partners for education, digital technology, business, climate and peace.
Clear targets for training, mobility, investment, language resources and conflict-prevention capacity.
Annual public reporting that allows citizens and member governments to measure progress.
Lumumba has already adopted the language of results. In XTRAfrica’s report on her campaign in Canada, she called for performance indicators, clearer priorities and an institution that operates as a service to its population.
That approach could distinguish her mandate if she wins. The OIF does not need to replace national governments, the African Union, the European Union or the United Nations. It needs to identify where a shared language, common institutions and a 90-member network can solve problems more effectively together than separately.
More than a Kinshasa–Kigali contest
The election inevitably carries geopolitical meaning. The DRC is advancing a Congolese candidate while Rwanda’s former foreign minister seeks another term. The two countries are divided by the continuing security crisis in eastern Congo and fundamental questions of sovereignty and regional responsibility.
Yet Lumumba’s most persuasive campaign argument is larger than that rivalry. She is asking member states to judge whether the Francophonie can become more relevant to its citizens and whether its next leadership should be measured by mobility created, skills delivered, businesses connected, languages protected and conflicts prevented.
Her programme also offers the DRC an opportunity to project a constructive form of international leadership. Congo’s campaign is not only asserting that the country deserves influence. It is presenting proposals for how that influence could serve the wider Francophone community.
If elected, Lumumba would lead the institution on behalf of all its members, not as an official of the Congolese Government. Kinshasa would not control the OIF. The importance of a Congolese victory would instead lie in the agenda it places at the centre of the organisation: sovereignty, peace, youth, economic dignity, cultural plurality and equal access to the digital future.
The real choice before the Francophonie
The OIF represents 396 million French speakers and brings together 90 states and governments. Its existing mission already covers most of the issues in Lumumba’s programme. The decision in Cambodia is therefore not about whether the organisation is legally allowed to support peace, education, economic cooperation or digital inclusion.
It is about emphasis, leadership and execution.
Lumumba is offering a Francophonie that behaves less like a distant diplomatic structure and more like a platform people can use. Some of her reforms could begin through existing OIF programmes. Others would require new money, negotiations and political agreements among governments.
That is not a weakness unique to her programme; it is the reality of leading a multilateral institution. The decisive question is whether she can build the coalitions required to move from proposal to delivery.
For Congo, the campaign already marks a significant assertion of diplomatic ambition. For the wider Francophone world, the approaching vote asks something even more consequential: Can a community united by language also become a community of opportunity, mobility, innovation and peace?
Juliana Lumumba’s nine projects are her answer. On November 16, the leaders of the Francophonie will decide whether they want her to put that answer into practice.
