What does the word “French” conjure up in your mind? Paris or Marseille? The Louvre Museum or Notre Dame? Who do you see when you think of “French”? Where are they from? 

Nearly 300 million people in the world speak French and although 67 million live in France, 96 million live in Africa. 

Those 96 million French speakers stretched mostly across western Africa embody a diversity of cultures, that will soon be represented in part, at the Francophone Africa Festival on April 1, at the Avenir Museum. The festival, in its first year, is ready to welcome Northern Colorado to an event bringing together the food, art, music, dance, and culture of Francophone Africa. 

Of the 54 countries encompassed within the African continent, 21 have French as the official Language.  Referred to as Francophone countries, countries like Senegal, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, include people who are all recognized to fall within the Francophonie, referring to any person who speaks French. 

“Francophonie and francophone are not only the French-speaking in France, but the world and all those people of course of the Africa Francophonie,” French teacher licensure student Ndiaw Samb says. 

The history behind the language is not complicated. Linked to a legacy of French colonizers who arrived in West Africa stretching back to the 17th century, but mainly in the late 1800s in what’s referred to as the Scramble for Africa, in which French forces swept through large areas of inland West Africa, in what would become known as French West Africa until 1958.  

Countries connected to the legacies of French West Africa, includes Senegal, where French Teaching Licensure student, Ndiaw Samb is from. For Samb, who has been teaching in countries like Senegal and Tanzania since 1985, the language legacy of French in Africa is not something he avoids but embraces, and why he has taken on such a supportive role in the upcoming Festival to represent the cultural and linguistic diversity of Africa. 

“I was born in the [school] system speaking French, and I went to school learning French, and French is the official language, but at the same time you have your own language [Wolof the most widely used language in Senegal], and all the other languages that are part of the ‘mother tongue’,” Samb says.  

Samb’s involvement in the Francophone Africa Festival is guiding the event in its cultural inclusions and bringing in African members of the community, and supporting the work of event leader and planner, Professor of French Frédérique Grim, who in the Fall of 2022 applied for a Francophone culture grant from the Consulate General of France in Los Angeles and won the top prize. 

“It [the grant] had to be shared with the community more greatly within what we call the Francophonie – it’s the French-speaking world. The goal is not to just focus on France, but it’s cultural diversity,” Grim says.  

Without the grant, and the work of Grim and Ndiaw, Northern Colorado would miss out on a one-of-a-kind event, and below they give a sneak peek into what attendees can expect and experience, and the cultural impacts of celebrating Francophone cultures beyond the French borders.  

What is behind creating the Francophone Africa Festival? 

Frédérique Grim 

One goal I have as a professor, is to make sure that my students are aware that French is not just about French in France. We’ve been trying to find this past year a way to create presentations in French, all about the French-speaking countries [across the world] and I felt like I wanted to have a semester focused on Africa. But then because I’m not a citizen of any country in Africa, I felt very inappropriate to try and represent this culture 

We [the French instructors] wanted to do something on Africa, but I wanted something different than the presentation that talked about African countries, and I was hoping that we could learn to dance. We could learn to appreciate the type of music they have, and the food they have. 

But the point is not to focus on French, it’s to focus on culture.  

Why is it important to have a cultural event like this?  

Ndiaw Samb 

I have been involved with people talking about African culture and so we have a community center here [of people from Africa], of really wonderful people.  We wanted to share [with the community of Northern Colorado] because we need them to know we are present in this country. Most of them [Americans in Northern Colorado], they don’t go to Africa – it is like an opportunity to taste Africa, and know where we come from, and our country, and what is interesting like the languages in Africa. 

What can people expect of the event?   

Frédérique Grim 

We’re going to have a mix of literature, like poems on from [community members from African] countries, we’re going to have a fashion show, the clothing that is a traditional dress but also worn every day. There will be dancing from the community – it’s going to be the physical aspects of their traditions. 

Do you have any thoughts on the social justice benefits of an event like this? There is obviously a history here as to why these African countries speak French, how does an event like this help honor that culture and yet acknowledge that history?   

Ndiaw Samb 

Colonization was a big problem, and when you are asked to learn another language [like French] you approach a gap, because I cannot express all my feelings in the way I can when I speak my own language [Wolof] – it really is kind of different. 

But no matter where you go in Senegal, we have our own language, and people can speak many languages – Senegal is full of very smart people. But French is a language like code, many people can speak it in Senegal, as well as many other languages, and you can really see the benefit of knowing so many.  

Frédérique Grim 

It is used as the language for the future, even though there’s a horrible past, and I have a hard time [teaching] it, because I often feel uncomfortable approaching the topic at first, but most of my contacts with Africans who grew up speaking French, they have been positive about it.  

At least all the ones I have met seem to have turned the page and said that’s a language in Africa that allows for intercultural communication, across and within several countries, supporting academic and economic development. 

What thoughts or feelings do you hope people experience at the event? 

Ndiaw Samb 

We want people to enjoy coming and seeing happy people. I want them to see how much [Africans] love and enjoy music, and that it is a very important part of who they are and why we are so happy all the time – that it is sometimes difficult for them to always try to be happy, but it is because they are always so grateful. 

Frédérique Grim 

I want to give [the African community] visibility and show just their strength and culture. That’s why I keep telling them this is not about French.  

To me, it is to celebrate African people, and France is its own little country and there are more French speakers outside of France. 

Experience the culture of African Francophone countries yourself, this Saturday from 2-4 pm at the Avenir Museum, in the inaugural Francophone African Festival.  

This interview has been edited for clarity.