(ATR) An official Tokyo 2020 website in French will be launched as part of a new Memorandum of Understanding signed on Thursday.
Despite French being an official language of the International Olympic Committee in equal standing with English, Tokyo 2020 has until now used only Japanese and English in almost everything it has released.
The L’Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (La Francophonie), an international organisation representing countries where French is spoken or where there is a significant affiliation with French culture, hopes the document it signed with Tokyo 2020 will change that.
According to Tokyo 2020, the MoU "is designed to encourage the use of French during the Tokyo 2020 Games, for example through the establishment of an official Tokyo 2020 website in French and the promotion of French culture".
La Francophonie Grand Témoin, or Great Witness, Thierry Marx attended the signing ceremony on behalf of Secretary General of la Francophonie Louise Mushikiwabo.
"La Francophonie welcomes the Tokyo 2020 commitment to respect the Olympic Charter with regard to official languages, of which French is an integral part," Mushikiwabo said in a statement.
"It reflects the mobilization of the Francophonie, to make the upcoming Olympiads an essential event in which all 88 member states and governments of the Francophonie and the 300 million speakers of this language will recognize each other."
French is the world's fifth-largest language and the fourth-largest language on the internet, with 132 million learners of French and in French.
"With the collaboration of the International Organisation of Francophonie, we hope that the three concepts of the Tokyo Games, namely "Achieving Personal Best", "Unity in Diversity", and "Connecting to Tomorrow", as well as our philosophy of peace, will be transmitted to more people in the world through use of the French language,"Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto said.
The Memorandum will be in effect until December 31, 2020.
Written by Gerard Farek
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