La Fondation Charles de Gaulle au First Global Foundations Beijing Summit Forum, 9-10 décembre 2009
 First Global Foundations Beijing summit forum |
Les 9 et 10 décembre 2009, la Fondation Charles de Gaulle a participé au premier forum mondial des fondations qui a été organisé à Pékin par la Fondation de Chine pour le Développement des Droits de l'Homme (China Foundation for Human Rights Development)
Ouvert par M. Huang Mengfu, vice-président de la Conférence consultative du PCC et président de la fondation organisatrice (la Fondation de Chine pour le Développement des Droits de l'Homme /China Foundation for Human Rights Development ), le premier forum mondial des fondations de Pékin, a rassemblé les dirigeants de 25 fondations représentant les cinq continents. Ce forum avait pour objectif de permettre la connaissance mutuelle des principales fondations exerçant un rôle reconnu dans la vie politique, économique, sociale ou culturelle de leur pays respectif.
La Fondation Charles de Gaulle était représentée par son secrétaire général, Antoine Dupont-Fauville, ancien conseiller technique du général de Gaulle et ancien directeur de cabinet de Michel Debré et par le général François Kessler, directeur général.
Le sujet annoncé par les organisateurs était le « développement pacifique, fondement d'un progrès harmonieux ». Au delà des mots, l'un des intérêts de cette manifestation, la première du genre, a été de faire mieux connaître la Fondation Charles de Gaulle, dont l'aura est indéniable en Chine, et d'ébaucher avec les autres fondations aux objets pourtant sensiblement différents, les contours de ce qui pourrait devenir un « réseau » des grandes fondations mondialement connues.
Etaient présentes la fondation Bill et Mélinda Gate ( USA), la Fondation Nelson Mandela ( RSA ), la Fondation Gulbenkian ( Portugal ), la Fondation Friedrich Ebert (Allemagne ), la Fondation Russkiy Mir, la Fondation internationale de l'Inde, la Fondation Coréenne, la Fondation du Japon et la Fondation mondiale d'Australie etc...
Il reste à mettre sur pied désormais une structure « ad hoc » pour institutionnaliser ces liens et les pérenniser si cela est possible. Il a été établi que dans un premier temps, les participants laissaient à la fondation organisatrice le soin de faire des propositions en ce sens. Ce bref séjour à Pékin, a été aussi l'occasion pour les représentants de la Fondation Charles de Gaulle d'être reçus par l'ambassadeur Cheng Tao, vice-président de l'Institut des Affaires étrangères du Peuple Chinois, organisme qui est depuis 2004 le partenaire institutionnel de la Fondation, puis par M. Hervé Ladsous, ambassadeur de France à Pékin.
Allocution de Mr Antoine Dupont-Fauville au First Global Foundations Beijing summit forum
la Fondation Charles de Gaulle |
Beijing - December 10th, 2009
Ladies and Gentlemen,
First, I would like to thank the China Foundation for Human Rights Development and its Chairman, Mr. Huang Menfu, for their kind invitation.
Of course, I am perfectly aware that the Charles de Gaulle Foundation is not the largest of the associations present at this prestigious meeting but we are particularly pleased and honoured to be with you to contribute to our reflexion and perhaps – this is one the objectives of this meeting - to reinforce or create new ties with some of you.
I would like to briefly explain who we are and the goals of the Charles de Gaulle Foundation:
As you can easily conclude from our name, we were created in 1971 in order to serve the memory of General de Gaulle and communicate, in France and in the world, the example he set and the lessons he transmitted to us.
First of all, we are an independent association and a non-political, state-approved public foundation (fondation reconnue d’utilité publique).
Management of the foundation is assumed by a board elected by a “convention“ – a kind of general assembly whose 140 members played a role helping General de Gaulle during or after the World War II or personalities who share General de Gaulle’s values.
Last Tuesday, for example, we introduced new members, two of them being Alain Juppé , President Chirac‘s former Prime Minister , and Mr. Chevènement, a former State Minister in President Mitterand’s government: the French know they hold completely different political views. One is from the right wing and the other, the left , but both of them are “Gaullists”.
Of course, part of our mission is to contribute to helping historians provide the public with a true and concrete view of the actions of General de Gaulle, both as a military leader and as a head of state. This is our history!
But we believe that our most important task is to transmit the values de Gaulle upheld.
“Gaullism” can be defined in a number of ways. For me, it is simple: it means respecting the dignity of every person and every country! It starts with respecting one’s self: you cannot agree to do something that is wrong (which is the reason why de Gaulle didn’t accept the surrender of France in 1940). It means respecting every man and woman, as well. It also implies respecting other countries, which de Gaulle proved by granting independence to the countries of the former French Empire in 1960.
The Charles de Gaulle Foundation tries to translate this general idea into reality at two different levels.
Inside France
Abroad, in our international relations
- In France
This is the key message visitors can see in our three museums we own or support, i.e.
in Lille, the northern part of France, General de Gaulle’s birthplace
in Paris, in the Invalides Museum, where you can also visit Napoleon’s tomb
in Colombey, General de Gaulle’s home during a large part of his life and where he died.
Like many foundations, we collect documents, facilitate research, organise conferences, support publications, publish a periodical review and pay a great deal of attention to our web site.
Our target is definitely youth, in particular, and a large portion of our attention is directed towards them. For example, we have agreements with our Ministry of Education and send publications to teachers in order to add to their own knowledge and their lessons to pupils.
- Our international activities
We also remember that General de Gaulle was very active on the international stage. I would like to remind you, here, in Beijng, that he was the first leader of a western nation to fully recognize the People’s Republic of China in 1964 and we are proud that President Hu Jintao paid a special visit to General de Gaulle‘s former office in Paris in our premises during his State visit to France in 1964.
So we believe we are in the wake of General de Gaulle‘s action when we try to create ties with other foundations in other countries: may I mention the opening ceremony of our Franco-German exhibition by Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, and by Nicolas Sarkozy, our President, last year at Colombey, the place where De Gaulle welcomed Chancellor Konrad Adenauer for the first time?
But again, we are aware that, to bear fruit, actions must touch people and we focus particularly on our youth. It’s for this reason that we endeavour to facilitate the exchange of young people from different countries; in this regard, I would like to mention the exchange programme we have created in partnership with the Chinese Institute of Foreign Affairs, which includes study trips in China for young “leaders of the future” who meet their Chinese counterparts, as well as study visits in Paris of young diplomats studying international relations or sustainable development for which we provide support, as we did between 2005 and 2008, and which we intend to continue.
Of course, we very much want to increase this kind of operation with other correspondent in others countries and are ready!
Thank you for your attention.
Antoine Dupont-Fauville