Switzerland in the International organization of La Francophonie

Switzerland has been a member of the IOF since 1996 and is now its third-largest contributor. Switzerland's main areas of action within la Francophonie concern democracy, peace and human rights, the promotion of International Geneva's digital ecosystem, and support for cultural and linguistic plurality. 

Ten Swiss parliamentarians and 33 cantonal representatives take part in the French-speaking Parliamentary Assembly (FPA). 

The summit is the highest political forum in la Francophonie, and brings together high-level representatives of French-speaking countries. IOF summits take place every two years in a member state, with discussion centring on a specified topic. The summit sets the general political direction for la Francophonie as an institution. It adopts the general programming framework and appoints the IOF's secretary general for a four-year term.

Switzerland hosted the 13th Summit of la Francophonie in 2010 in Montreux.

Paris will host the 19th summit on 4-5 October 2024.

Every year on 20 March, Switzerland and its representations abroad take part in activities organised as part of the International Day of La Francophonie. In Switzerland, this event takes place within the framework of the Week of the French Language and La Francophonie, in which several institutions take part. The Week of the French Language and La Francophonie is overseen by the Intercantonal Conference of Public Education of French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino.

Switzerland participates in the Francophonie Games, which bring together more than 3,000 athletes and artists from French-speaking countries. The Francophone Games, held every four years, include sporting and cultural competitions. This event embodies the values of solidarity, diversity and personal excellence, and helps bring together young people from all of the IOF’s 88 member countries.

The 2023 Francophone Games took place in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with the participation of young competitors from Switzerland.