“L’union dans la diversité est la clé pour faire l’ humanité plus humaine,” or “the union through diversity is what will make humanity more human.” The quote belongs to Cameroonian Manu Dibango, one of the great names of world jazz, who was nominated ‘Grand Témoin’ (Great Witness) by the International Francophone Organisation. The movement, which aims to promote the French language and culture around the world, has joined forces with the organisers of the first Olympic Games in South America.

Dibango was at the Rio 2016 headquarters on Monday morning (23 November) to sign an agreement of cooperation between the organising committee and the International Francophone Organisation to promote the language and culture of francophone (French-speaking) countries in Brazil.

In his speech, the musician remembered the recent terrorist attacks in the French capital and stressed the importance of values such as unity and respect, pillars of the Olympic Movement, in spreading world peace.

It is in the spirit of these values that both organisations want to develop an extensive artistic, linguistic and sporting integration programme, which is expected to be launched during the World Francophone Journey that will take place in Rio de Janeiro in March next year.

'We want to show the work of artists from French-speaking countries in Brazil' 

Manu Dibango, jazz musician

Known as one of the first musicians to mix jazz with African rhythms, Dibango gave a sample of what he hopes to accomplish in Rio. Armed with his saxophone, he played classics from Brazilian music, such as Aquarela do Brasil and Tico Tico no Fubá together with musicians from the Orquestra Cyclophonica, who play their instruments while riding bicycles.

The partnership also aims to spread the French language in Brazil by offering educational activities for the public, as well as translation services for athletes and journalists during the Games. Spoken by over 570,000 Brazilians, French is the official language of the International Olympic Committee and will be available in all official Rio 2016 communications, along with Portuguese, English and Spanish.

“Because of the Olympic Games, we have seen the rise of a very strong interest from the world in Rio de Janeiro and Brazil. This represents a unique opportunity for our country to position itself as a great global centre,” said Renato Ciuchini, Rio 2016’s commercial director.