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FONDATION
CHIRAC
Presentation Br ief
© Eric Lefeuvre
REASONS FOR ENGAGEMENT
Jacques Chirac has always pursued his political ambitions of fostering an international culture of mutual respect, weaving links between worlds and building a
more harmonious global society. During his entire active life in politics he worked
to ensure that peace prevailed over the forces of war, solidarity over indifference,
sharing over egotistical considerations and responsibility over fatalism. As an
ardent militant for cultural diversity, he seeks to give genuine meaning to the universal principle of the equal dignity of men and women and peoples. Thus, in
order to encourage the shift towards a sustainable model of development, which
includes this indispensable dimension, he is among the advocates of dialog between cultures and civilizations.
Through the vehicle of the Fondation Chirac, he continues to pursue his goal of
acting in the service of peace. While peace is undermined by unresolved conflicts
and crises, increasing environmental destruction threatens to weaken it even further, owing to the rising risk of future climatic refugees numbering in the
millions. Peace is being undermined by our shortsightedness and failure to support social solidarity, by the steamrolling of singular cultures and by rekindled
conflicts rooted in clashes between cultural identities.
Because the new challenges of protecting biodiversity, enabling dialog among
cultures and fostering respect for the environment all require multiple responses,
the action of the Fondation Chirac will take multiple forms. Depending on the
issue, it will support existing initiatives, argue for causes or participate in experimentation on promising projects, all with the aim of contributing to the development of an effective system for regulating globalization and reinventing world
governance.
Jacques Chirac launches this undertaking with the heightened awareness of the
urgent need to act while there is still time.

AREAS OF ACTION
It is this heightened sense of urgency that has led the Fondation to orient its initial
actions towards access to medicine, access to fresh water, the fight against deforestation and desertification and support for threatened languages and cultures.
These four areas, among others of course, directly concern the health and safety
of individuals and societies, and thus prospects for peace.
Actually, these four challenges are interrelated because the first victims of a lack
of healthcare, the first victims of drought and the lack of sanitation, the first victims of deforestation and desertification are always the most fragile populations
whose culture, identity and perceived value to the world are the most threatened.
In fact, these four challenges are really one, which is to succeed in finding genuinely sustainable forms of development. Development must bring meaning to the
human adventure, leave no one by the wayside and it must be rooted in respect
for the diversity of cultures, without which any effective, long-term action is
doomed to failure.
. The issue of access to medicines poses enormous challenges to security.
Pandemics of diseases, both old and new, threaten the survival of entire societies
when preventive treatments and cures are not available at affordable costs to the
greatest number and when the access to quality medicine is not guaranteed for
all. One must ask what future does a state have whose population is threatened
with extinction while another merely survives in a state of bad health. Therefore,
the Fondation will support actions aiming to ensure access to certified medicines.
!
! . Access to fresh water presents an equally formidable challenge. Without ade-
quate supplies of fresh water there is neither life, nor health, nor agriculture or
food. The food crises we are currently facing provide the sad but irrefutable proof
of this in countries suffering from prolonged drought or massive flooding.
Therefore, the Fondation will support a plan to strengthen systems and infrastructure that ensure sustainable access to fresh water and water purification in
rural areas.

. Deforestation and desertification can be largely explained by the necessary
extension of areas brought into cultivation to feed the inexorable increase in
!
population. We now know, and the Bali Conference on Climate Change in
December  further emphasized the fact, that these ever-expanding zones of
agricultural production are a major cause of climate change, the consequences
of which in terms of security are no longer in doubt. The societies concerned, but
also the entire world population, will have to make difficult choices between
competing priorities and manage potential sources of crises or even conflict.
Therefore, the Fondation will support actions aiming to counter deforestation
and desertification, in an effort to promote the logic of sustainable resource
management and the creation of income for local populations – the only
logical approach able to reconcile otherwise contradictory objectives.
! . The
crisis in nature, which is manifested in dwindling resources and the accelerating frequency of natural disasters echoes the crisis of culture, which is manifested in increasing terrorism, the trend of withdrawal into communities to shut
out the world and the spread of behaviors exhibiting contempt or rejection of
otherness. Today, the instability of our economic and ecological model most assuredly influences declining cultural heritage. Declining social status often occurs in
tandem with cultural decline. When what a culture brings to the universal experience of mankind is negated, violence is never far off. Thus, the struggle to
defend diversity is also a struggle for peace. Therefore, the Fondation will make
the issue of safeguarding languages and cultures threatened with extinction a
top priority.
Global society, if it is to have a future, must be founded upon the recognition of
the great variety of resources and ways of life existing across the planet, thereby
acknowledging the urgency of protecting bio-cultural diversity.
Globalization offers a historic opportunity to humanity owing to its ability to create networks and linkages and to the cultural and scientific resources it makes available to us to meet these challenges that will determine the future of our species.
The Fondation Chirac, through the projects it chooses to support, seeks to encourage the exchange of ideas, techniques and values and to contribute to weaving
an ever-broader web of knowledge and practices that will spontaneously lead to
sustainable development. Faced with global challenges, these projects will aim to
bring elements of answers and adaptable or repeatable solutions in keeping with
the diversity of the situations encountered.
4

HONOR COMMITTEE: A SHARED COMMITMENT
Tireless workers in the cause of peace, dialog and development, they have
all played an eminent role in their respective countries or at the head
of international organizations. Together they represent the diversity of
experience and cultures that can give balance to the world. They bring
inestimable human capital to the Fondation Chirac.
Kofi Annan
Former Secretary General of the United Nations, he fulfilled two mandates as
head of the Organization from  to . In , he received the Nobel
Peace Prize for his personal commitment to the fight against poverty and the
mobilization of the planet’s leaders in favor of peace. He currently heads several
organizations in the domain of development (AGRA, Alliance for a green revolution in Africa) and human rights as President of the “Foundation to support the
World Organization against Torture.” In , he founded the World
Humanitarian Forum, whose work focuses on the human consequences of
global warming. He is also President of the prize committee of the “Fondation
Mo Ibrahim.”
Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Prior to his two mandates as President of the Federal Republic of Brazil from 
to , he was senator from the state of São Paulo, Minister of Foreign Affaires
then Minister of Finance. A sociologist by training, he was a professor at the Ecole
des hautes études en sciences sociales and the Collège de France. Following his
presidency, he created the “Brazilian foundation for sustainable development” and
has given many lectures, notably on the theme of deforestation.
François Cheng
A member of the Académie Française since , he was born in China into
literary family and settled in France after World Wart II. He is a translator, calligraphist, academic and, author of numerous essays on Chinese thought,
esthetics and art. Awarded the Femina Prize for the Dit de Tanyi in , he
received the grand prize of the French-speaking communities of the Académie
Française in , for the body of his work.

Joaquim Alberto Chissano
President of the Republic of Mozambique from  to , he currently heads
the “Chissano Foundation,” supporting development projects involving the
active participation of populations involved and designed to promote reconciliation following the civil war. Fully engaged in the service of the culture of peace,
in  he received the Mo Ibrahim prize, awarded to African leaders who distinguish themselves by their good governance and the quality of their management of public affairs.
Jean Chrétien
Prime Minister of Canada from  to , this lawyer by training held his first
elected office in . During his mandates Canada ratified the Kyoto Protocol
and created the Bureau charged with resolving territorial claims of native
peoples. In October , he announced that Canada was committed to the creation of ten new national parks over the next five years to ensure, through sustainable management of forest resources, the safeguard of unique landscapes and
the protection of the fauna of the second largest country in the world, which is
model in the subject.
Abdou Diouf
In  he was elected to succeed Léopold Sédar Senghor as President of the
Republic of Senegal after serving as its Prime Minister. He stepped down from this
function in . In , he was unanimously elected Secretary General of the
International Organization of French-speaking communities, and was reelected
in . An ardent defender of French-speaking peoples in the service of democracy and human rights, he has made cultural and linguistic diversity a strategic
priority of his action.
Bronislaw Geremek
Polish historian at the Ecole des hautes études, he was Director of the Center of
Polish Civilization of the Sorbonne. A militant participant in Solidarnosc and a personal advisor to Lech Walesa, he was elected member of the Polish Parliament
and fulfilled the role of Minister of Foreign Affairs from  to . Since ,
he is a member of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. He leads forums and
associations dedicated to European civilization and the social history of Europe,
the theme of his numerous publications. He is notably the author of La Potence
et la Pitié, l’Europe des pauvres du Moyen Age à nos jours (The Gallows and the Pity,
the Europe of the poor from the Middle Ages to our era) published by éditions
Gallimard.

Enrique Iglesias
President of the InterAmerican Development Bank from  to , he turned
this institution into the main source of multilateral development financing in
Latin America and the Caribbean. Prior to this role, he was Minister of Foreign
Affaires of his adopted company, Uruguay. In , he served as Secretary General
of the United Nations conference on New and Renewable Energies. He is currently serving as Secretary General of the Ibero-American Secretariat, based in
Madrid, which provides its expertise for the organization of conferences and summits gathering Spain and the Spanish-speaking countries of the Americas.
Lee Kuan Yew
Premier Minister of the Republic of Singapore from  to , he is currently
its Minister Mentor. Under his impetus, the city-state of Singapore has become a
model of prosperity and stability in Asia. Of Chinese origin, educated in the
English tradition, he successfully transformed his country by respecting local
cultures and by making the balance between the Malay and Chinese communities the key to harmonious development.
Federico Mayor
Director General of UNESCO from  to , he founded the “Culture of Peace
Program” and succeeded in having the General Assembly of the United Nations
declare the year  “International year for the Culture of Peace.” In , he
created the “Foundation for a culture of Peace”. Designated co-president of the
“high-level group” for the Alliance of Civilizations by the Secretary General of the
United Nations in , he is President of the “Initiative pour la Science en
Europe” network. Born in Barcelona, Doctor of Pharmacology, professor of biochemistry, Federico Mayor was cofounder of the Center of Molecular Biology of
the Autonomous University of Madrid, in , and served as Minister of
Education and Science of the Spanish government as well as member of the
European Parliament.
Rigoberta Menchu Tum
In , at the age of , she became the youngest person ever to receive the
Nobel Peace Prize.
Hailing from an impoverished Guatemalan village, she was confronted early on
with the injustices perpetrated against the Mayan people. Her mother and brother were assassinated by military forces. These same forces also burned down
the Spanish embassy where her father was at the time. Emblematic figure of
the struggle for the respect of indigenous peoples, she denounces injustice,
explains its origins, demands redress and embodies resistance. Through the

foundation that bears her name, she continues her work to carry out programs
and actions in support of human rights, the rights of indigenous peoples and
the promotion of dialog and negotiation as solutions to conflicts.
Youssou N’Dour
Today, Youssou N’Dour is the world’s best-known African artist. His hit song “
seconds,” a duet sung with Neneh Cherry, made him famous around the globe.
A very engaged singer with a magical voice, he is also a goodwill ambassador for
UNICEF, the FAO, and Amnesty International. He created a foundation whose
priorities include the rights of children in Africa and fight against malaria. In ,
he also created the “Birima” micro-credit company.
Rajendra Kumar Pachauri
President of the intergovernmental panel of experts on climate (IPCC), set up by
the UN in , he shared the Nobel peace Prize with Al Gore in  for his
organizing of the work of the climate experts’ whose findings concluded with the
probability that human activity is responsible for global warming. He is also
Managing Director of the Resource Systems Institute in New Delhi.
This Indian economist grew up in the “perfect nature” of the Himalayan foothills
before dedicating himself for decades to environmental conservation. His Nobel
Prize acceptance speech in December  was a cry of alarm about the tragic
consequences global warming will have for human societies if urgent and major
steps are not taken right away.
Andrés Pastrana Arango
Prior to his election as President of the Republic of Colombia from  to ,
he was the Mayor of Bogota. The dialog opened with guerilla forces, with whom
he signed a humanitarian agreement, the positions he took regarding protection
of the environment, notably concerning deforestation and soil and water pollution where the hallmarks of his term in office. In , he co-wrote the “Manifesto
of a culture of peace and non-violence,” under the aegis of the United Nations
and UNESCO. Andrés Pastrana is a jurist and a journalist.
Andrea Riccardi
Professor of contemporary history at the University of Rome III, he founded in
Rome in  – in the wake of the Vatican II council – the catholic community of
Sant’Egidio whose deep engagement in social life is directed towards support for
the poor, dialog between religions and peace. Sant’Egidio has undertaken efforts
in conflict mediation in Lebanon, Albania, Kosovo, Mozambique and Guatemala.

Ismaïl Serageldin
Ismaïl Serageldin is Director of the library of Alexandria. A Harvard University and
Cairo University graduate, he is a professor, architect and writer. He worked many
years at the World Bank where he notably headed the Consultative Group on
International Agricultural Research and the Consultative Group to Assist the
Poorest (CGAP). From  to , he chaired the “Global Water Partnership,”
and, from  to , the “st Century World Water Commission” He cochaired the “African biotechnology panel.” Ismaïl Serageldin is a member of the
Egyptian Senate.
Ely Ould Mohamed Vall
Mauritanian head of state from  to , he ensured the transition to democracy and organized the elections in which he chose not to participate.
He enabled his country to regain the trust of international institutions by laying
the foundations of a genuine democracy and by restoring the structures of the
state. A career military officer, he is both a man of action and an intellectual with
an unusual background. Today, he dedicates his time to mediation missions in
African countries prey to latent strife.
Vaira Vike-Freiberga
President of the Republic of Latvia from  to , this French-speaking
psychologist did her secondary studies at the Lycée Français of Casablanca and
lived in Canada for twenty years. Elected President of Latvia, she led her country
to participate in the constitution of the New Europe by convincing it to join the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Council of Europe, The
WTO, the Council of the Baltic Sea States, as well as NATO and the European
Union in . Vaira Vike-Freiberga served as Vice President of the Scientific
Council of Canada and has chaired diverse organizations in the social sciences
field. Her research is focused largely on traditional Latvian literature, culture and
identity. She has published nine books.
Muhammad Yunus
Founder and Director of the Grameen Bank, dubbed the “Banker to the poor,” he
received the Nobel Peace Prize in . Born in Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus
is a PhD in economics. He compelled acceptance of the notion of micro-credit,
which now benefits several hundred million people around the globe, by going
against economic rules of thumb. His most recent publication, Creating a World
without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism, (Public Affairs,
January ), calls for a revolution in the free enterprise system.

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
To fulfill its missions, the Fondation Chirac wished to provide itself with
a board of directors capable of taking the initiative and providing effective and rigorous management of the resources implemented in its programs. The team Jacques Chirac has gathered around him meets these
aims. Each of its members brings his or her rich experience and wellhoned creative skills in his or her area of expertise.
Founder: Jacques Chirac
Mohamed Arkoun
Professor emeritus in history of Islamic thought at the Sorbonne Nouvelle. Born
in Greater Kabylie (Algeria), student at Oran, Alger and Paris, he became tenured
professor of Arab language and literature (), professor and lecturer in universities throughout the world. He has authored many reference works, translated into several languages, on applied Islamic studies. Among these: Essais sur la
pensée islamique (“Essays on Islamic thought,” Maisonneuve & Larose, );
Arab Thought, ed. S. Chand, New Delhi ; L’islam, hier et demain (Islam, yesterday and tomorrow, Buchet-Chastel, ); L’islam et les musulmans en France
du Moyen Âge à nos jours (“Islam and Muslims in France from the Middle Ages to
Today,” Albin Michel, ).
Yann Arthus-Bertrand
Photographer, journalist, writer and ecological activist, he is as experienced
in group action as he is familiar with worldwide success through publishing
(Earth from the Air has sold over  million copies in  languages). In ,
he created the Good Planet association and organizes “carbon action,”
which aims to offset greenhouse gas emissions and to finance projects
based on renewable energies. His latest project – “Six Billion Others” – is
planetary in purpose and will be the subject in  of an exhibition at the
Grand Palais in Paris.
Marie-Hélène Bérard
Chief Executive Officer of MHB SA, an investment advisory firm founded in 
and specialized in the assisting French companies seeking to set up businesses in
Central and Eastern Europe and the countries of the former Soviet Union. After
working several years in the French Ministry of Finance following her graduation
from the ENA (national school of public administration), she was a counselor in
the office of Simone Veil, Minster of Health, then worked in this capacity for Prime
Ministers Raymond Barre and Jacques Chirac. In , she joined the senior

management of the French bank Crédit Commercial de France, and worked for
ten years on developing its presence in the countries which her business currently focuses on.
Michel Camdessus
Honorary president of the “Social Weeks of France,” member of the “Africa Progress
Panel,” chaired by Kofi Annan, he was Managing Director of The International
Monetary Fund from  to , after serving as Director of the French Treasury
(-) then Governor of the Banque de France (-). He has applied
his expertise through many missions and interventions in the service of “the global
public good”: Jacques Chirac’s personal representative to NEPAD (New Partnership
for Africa's Development), chairing namely the World Panel on Financing Water
infrastructure, whose report was published in  in conjunction with the Kyoto
Summit. He then became a member of the Commission for Africa chaired by Tony
Blair and as such was associated with the report “Our common interest,” published
in . In , he directed the working group on “le sursaut – vers une nouvelle
croissance pour la France” (“the jolt, towards new growth for France”), whose report
remains a reference on the subject.
Catherine Colonna
French Ambassador to UNESCO, Minister Delegate to European Affairs from 
to , she serves as spokeswoman to the President of the Republic (-)
before taking over the direction of the Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC)
until . An alumnus of the ENA and a career diplomat, she notably was posted
to the French Embassy in Washington, to the department of Legal Affairs and to
the Center for Analysis and Forecasting at the Quai d’Orsay before taking the position of deputy spokeswoman for Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then returning to
the Elysée Palace.
Geneviève Ferone
She is currently Director of Sustainable Development at Veolia Environnement,
after holding the same position at Eiffage from  to . PhD in international
business law, possessing broad experience of international organizations, including the International Energy Agency, the Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. She
applied her innovative skills in  to founding ARESE, leading French rating
agency covering listed companies in the social and environmental domains, which
corresponds to her own area of specialization in the field of socially responsible
investment. She has authored several publications on this theme, including this
year,  : le krach écologique, (: the Ecological Crash; Grasset).

Jean-Pierre Lafon
President of the Bureau of International Expositions (B.I.E.), an intergovernmental organization charged with approving and coordinating universal expositions,
since December . Prior to this position, he spent his entire career in the
French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which he joined after graduating from the
ENA, in the Department of Cultural Affairs, charged with European relations. His
career path is rich and varied, leading him to London before being posted to Iran,
Niger, and to the head of the United Nations Department of the Quai d’Orsay. He
was French ambassador to Lebanon and to China before becoming secretary
general of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, function he performed until
. He was appointed Ambassador of France in .
Tristan Lecomte
He is founder and President of Alter Eco. The company, which he launched in
, today distributes the production of , correspondents grouped into
 cooperatives operating in  countries. Producers’ compliance with commitments to fair trade enables them to gain access to international markets. He was
first recognized for his efforts to promote fair trade through associations – with
the Solidarité France-Népal association he created – and by means of his company. Tristan Lecomte is a graduate of the HEC business school and the Getúlio
Vargas Foundation (Brazil). Not yet , he is the management board’s most junior
member.
Besnik Mustafaj
A man of politics and letters, born in northern Albania, he is a professor of foreign
literature at the University of Tirana, as well as a writer, translator and journalist.
He served as Albania’s ambassador in Paris (to France and UNESCO) from  to
, and as a member of Albania’s Parliament under the label of the party he cofounded with Sali Berisha, the DPA (Democratic Party of Albania). Following the
 elections, he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, a post he held until
his resignation in April . He has written and published many books, poems,
short stories and novels, some of which have been translated into French by Actes
Sud including ( Les cigales de la canicule (the locusts of the heat wave) Un été sans
retour (a summer of no return).
René Ricol
He is Vice President of Ricol, Lasteyrie & Associés, a leading independent financial
expertise and financial risk management in France. For over twenty years he has
played an active role in national international bodies governing the financial profession, contributing to its development and professionalizing the field of growth

and performance advisory services. Former president of the Compagnie nationale
des commissaires aux comptes (French national association of independent auditors), and the Conseil supérieur de l’ordre des experts-comptables (French national
association of certified public accountants), he also chaired the International
Federation of Accountants, which gathers the professional associations of 
countries, from  to . He is currently President of the Réseau “Tous pour
l’emploi” (“Everyone for employment” Network) as well as the guiding council of
“France Investissement.”
Jean-Michel Severino
Director of the French Development Agency since , Inspector General of
Finances, he was the director of the World Bank for Central Europe and its vicepresident for Asia. He has been grappling for many years with the enormous challenges facing emerging countries. He is also a member of the “high-level consultative committee” of the African Development Bank (ABD), set up in  to advise it
on its strategic vision. He has also written numerous publications notably on the
subjects of public development aid, urbanization and conflicts over water.
Valérie Terranova
In May , she founded her own consulting firm in strategy. A graduate of the
Institut des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (also dubbed “Langues O”), for eight
years she was charged with the mission of overseeing the international relations
of the city of Paris. General Commissioner of the “Year of France in Japan” from
 to , she joined the staff of the office of the President of the Republic of
France that same year, where she specialized in intercultural relations.
Bernard Vatier
Lawyer, former President of the Paris Bar, he was elected President of the Council
of the Bars and Law Societies of the European Union (CCBE) serving from  to
. He acquired firsthand knowledge and expertise through his work at a law
firm which specialized in commercial transactions and the corporate law. A teacher
and very active in the defense of the values represented by the law profession, he
is internationally recognized for his competencies in the field of arbitrage.
Wu Jianmin
President of the China Foreign Affairs University, he is a founding member of the
China-Europe forum. A diplomat, he notably served as Ambassador of the
People’s Republic of China to the Netherlands, to the United Nations office at
Geneva and to France. In , he was unanimously elected President of the
International Bureau of Expositions, a mandate he held until .

First Partners
Liliane Bettencourt
François Pinault
Véolia Environnement
Sanofi-Aventis
Schneider Electric
Fimalac
Lazard Frères
Bernard J. Duroc-Danner
Fadi Nahas
Gaz de France
Claire Roger
Pierre Fabre
Kinoa

Support the action of
the Fondation Chirac
Your contributions to the Fondation Chirac enable you to actively
participate in its action undertaken in the service of peace and to
go further with its priority projects of ensuring access to quality
medicines and fresh water for all, the fight against deforestation
and desertification and supporting endangered languages and cultures. You will be backing concrete actions, through existing initiatives and the launching of new programs. Your support will make
a difference.
Contributions to this charitable institution are tax deductible.
Contact
[email protected]
www.fondationchirac.eu

ACCESS
TO MEDICINE
Extension of the Benin
National Laboratory
of quality control of medicines
EXTENSION OF THE BENIN NATIONAL LABORATORY
OF QUALITY CONTROL OF MEDICINES
“There can be no public health policy without
quality medicines.”
Dr. Robert Sebbag
President of the commission on the international
operations of the Red Cross
Vice President “Access to medicines” of SANOFI-AVENTI
Access to quality medicines is a major challenge facing public health policies in
Africa where counterfeit medications are a widespread danger.
Depending on the country, counterfeit medications can exceed % of medicines
on the market.
It is estimated that by  counterfeit medicines will represent a market of 
billion dollars, or an increase of % compared with .
Some of these counterfeit medicines contain no active ingredients, while in
others the ingredients are present in inadequate doses, and still others contain
highly toxic substances.
These fake medications harm patients due to their uselessness in treating serious
diseases and contribute to increasing treatment-resistant strains of infectious diseases. Worse, in far too many cases they cause death. Although purchasing medications in developing countries always represents a heavy financial burden for
patients, such wasteful expenditures have dramatic economic consequences for
families.
Today, nearly % of anti-malaria medications on the market contain active ingredients in doses too small to be effective.
The distribution of harmful or inactive medicines that escape all control constitutes a danger to the health and safety of populations, a moral scandal and an enormous challenge for actors involved in development.
Quality Control of Medicines
Quality control of medicines, associated with information and educational policies aimed at changing behaviors (awareness campaigns targeting populations in
danger), is a prerequisite in efforts to halt the development of counterfeit medicines. It is an indispensable step enabling the countries of the South to set up or
strengthen effective and sustainable public health policies.

The case of Benin
Since the late s, the policy of access to medicines has been a top public
health policy priority of Benin and the government has undertaken major and
exemplary efforts to restructure its pharmaceutical policy.
The Ministry of Health has secured access to quality medicines through several
measures:
! Restructuring the central purchasing authority of essential medicines,
! Creating a School of Pharmacology,
! Rehabilitating the national laboratory of quality control of medicines.
These measures have enabled Benin to become a leading innovator in its
region. However, confronted with the explosion of the market in counterfeit medicines, the country needs to consolidate its tools for combating this
plague. Among these, the national laboratory of quality control of medicines is
of particular importance.
Partner
! Fondation Pierre
Fabre
The response: the extension of the national laboratory of quality control
of medicines
To attain regional scope and consolidate the policy of access to quality medicines
in West Africa, the overarching public health and safety challenge, the national
laboratory of quality control of medicines Benin must obtain certification from
the World Health Organization. This requires the extension of its facilities as well
as the enhancement of its technical and human resources, which will strengthen
its control and training missions on the national and regional scale.
Benin authorities consider this project to be a top priority and have made the
strengthening of the capacities of the national laboratory of quality control of
medicines one of its major recommendations in the “États généraux de la santé,”
held in Cotonou in November .
Operator: Benin National
Laboratory of quality
control of medicines
Contact:
Philippe Bernagou,
[email protected]

ACCESS TO
FRESH WATER
Plan for strengthening
capacity in rural areas

© Eric Lefeuvre
“Resolving the crisis of water and sanitation may be
humanity’s nest great step forward.”
Kevin Watkins
Editor-in-chief of the
World Report on the Human Development
United Nations Development Program, 
The world’s population will increase by  to % over the next  years.
Tomorrow, Africa will count . billion inhabitants.
Population growth, with its corollaries of industrialization and urbanization, will
have multiple consequences, chiefly for the environment. This development will
make the issue of access to water and sanitation ever more pressing, while irrigation requirements will also rise.
Today, in the world:
. billion people have only unclean drinking water
! . million children die each year from water-born diseases
! . billion people lack basic sanitary facilities
!
The cost of this lack of access to clean water reaches  billion dollars per year
and the consequences for economic and social development are a heavy burden
for many countries: it is estimated that  million school days are lost each year
owing to this problem

© Yann Arthus-Bertrand / La Terre vue du ciel
Drilled well in a village near Doropo, region of Bouna, Ivory Coast (°’ N – °’ O). Throughout Africa water collection is a
role generally assured by women, as it is here near Doropo. Little by little, drilled wells, usually equipped with manual pumps,
are replacing traditional village wells. Traditional receptacles for carrying this precious resource, gourds and “canaries” or big
terra cotta jugs, are being supplanted by plastic, enameled metal or aluminum ones. Drawn from aquifers deep underground,
water from these wells presents less of a health risk than that drawn from traditional wells, which in over % of cases is not
fit for drinking. Disease resulting from unsanitary water is declining but remains the primary cause of infant mortality in
developing countries: every year diarrhea causes the death of  million infants before the age of . Faced with a burgeoning
population, access to potable water, which one out of six of the earth’s inhabitants is still waiting for, is one of the greatest
challenges to resolve in coming years.
www.yannarthusbertrand.org - www.goodplanet.org
Because over  river basins are shared by two or more countries, the risk of
conflicts over access to this vital resource could become increasingly serious.
Although the international community has begun mobilizing to deal with this
challenge, notably by adopting an action plan for water in  at the G summit in Evian, there remains much to be done. We are far from achieving the
Millennium Objectives, which are to cut in half the populations lacking access to
water or purification facilities by .
In Mali, the access rate to water purification is estimated at merely %...
Partner
! African bank of
developpement
Following directly behind Jacques Chirac, who was among the first to call for a
global effort on these issues, notably at the Evian summit, the Fondation will support the African Development Bank for the implementation of a plan to enhance
capacities for access to water and water purification in rural areas of Senegal and
Mali.
The goal is to ensure the Millennium Objectives can be fulfilled in some of the
poorest rural regions on the globe by providing support to village communities,
notably for training rural villagers and water managers in effective operation and
maintenance of water facilities.
This three-year plan places a particular emphasis on actions in the area of professional training in water-related occupations, empowerment of locally elected
officials, water users and associations, as well as undertaking information, educational and communication campaigns.

CENTER FOR
SOCIAL
EXCELLENCE
of the Congo Basin forests
© Edward Parker
CENTER FOR SOCIAL EXCELLENCE
OF THE CONGO BASIN FORESTS
“Peace can be defined as safe and assured access to the
resources that are essential to sustaining life. When
access to these resources is disrupted it can have serious
consequences for peace. From this standpoint, climate
change will have numerous impacts on some populations
in terms of access to fresh water, sufficient food, stable
health conditions, ecosystem resources and the sustainability
of patterns of human settlement.”
Rajendra Pachauri, Président du Giec
Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech,
Oslo, December , 
According to the last report from the International Panel on Climate Change, tropical deforestation is responsible for approximately % of world greenhouse
gas emissions. Halting this destructive trend is now recognized as the most efficient and economical way to effectively counter global warming, which is its
second biggest cause (Report by Nicholas Stern on the economics of climate
change – October ), but also to preserve the rich and irreplaceable
biodiversity contained in these forests.
Every year,  million hectares of the world’s tropical forests are destroyed,
mainly by clearing, owing to the rush to expand cultivatable land, and by uncontrolled logging.
Approximately  million of earth’s inhabitants depend on tropical forests for survival. Sustainable development of these resources in Latin America, South Asia and
Africa, is still the exception. In the interest of all, it must become the rule.

FSC certificate
The FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) defines sustainable management of a forest
The case of the Congo Basin
The Congo Basin in Central Africa contains the
second largest forest in the world, behind the
one in Amazon Basin. It is home to a mainly
rural population, estimated to number 
million people, including approximately
, Pygmies and semi-nomadic peoples
grouped into nine communities. These communities are entirely dependent on the forest
for their livelihood. It provides them with their
habitat, food, medicines and places of worship.
Their knowledge of the forest is irreplaceable.
Today, apart from a few rare exceptions, these
communities are not associated with the
management of the forest, though they are the most knowledgeable about it. For
the communities concerned, their exclusion represents an enormous waste of
competencies for the logging companies in addition to being a negation of their
rights. This absurd situation results in the forest being logged according to
requirements of short-term profitability that are incompatible with long-term
sustainability just as it is facing an explosion in world demand for wood.
The response: the center for social
excellence
The idea of creating a “center for social excellence” in the field of sustainable forest management evolved from a successful experience tested in the Republic of the Congo where in 
a ,-hectare forest concession managed
to obtain the FSC certificate guaranteeing sustainable management for the first time in Africa.
It achieved this exploit by utilizing cutting-edge
technologies enabling the forest communities
to map the forest themselves in ways that took
into account their rights and ways of life.
© Tropical Forest Trust
© John James
with ten principles. These ten principles include economic and environmental as
well as a social and cultural aspects. To obtain certification, forest logging companies must implement policies that take into account the life and culture of the
populations inhabiting forests and ensure forest management policy incorporates their agreement.

© Edward Parker
The project will create a field -based training center that fosters dialog between logging companies, indigenous populations and other local players.
This center is regional in scope
(Republic of the Congo, Gabon,
Central African Republic,
Cameroon and the Democratic
Republic of the Congo) and will
work in close collaboration
with the universities and specialized institutes in the countries
involved.
© Norbert Gammi
Its goal is to:
! Successfully achieve the certification process for  million hectares of the forest
by , by bringing  to  logging companies onboard;
! Support the development of African competencies in matters of sustainable
forest management, especially as regards the human, social and cultural aspects.
An adapted tool: the radio “Biso na Biso” (“Among ourselves”)
To facilitate exchanges between the various players involved in forest management, the creation of the center for social for excellence will be assisted in
its efforts by the creation of a community radio station, managed and hosted by Pygmy, semi-nomadic and illiterate populations of the region. La radio
will be a link enabling these peoples whose cultures are essentially oral to
transmit their traditions and regularly communicate in their own languages.
Partners
! World Bank
! Fondation Albert II
de Monaco
! Group Virgin
Project Operator
The project operator is the Tropical Forest Trust (TFT).
The TFT is a non-profit organization founded in  for the purpose of fighting
climate change and the relentless trend towards uniformity that is sweeping the
world’s cultures by working to preserve tropical forests.
En formant des partnerships with companies in the lumber industry, the TFT steers
forest logging companies and the communities living in the areas being logged
towards sustainable management of forest resources. Backed by a -person team
comprising forest engineers and agronomists, anthropologists, biologists and
other experts, the TFT is present in Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, Indonesia, China,
Gabon, Cameroon, the Congo, and Brazil.
Coordinator: Dr. Norbert Gami, anthropologist
Contact: Bastien Sachet - Tél.: +     - [email protected]

SOROSORO
So the languages of the world may prosper!
SOROSORO PROGRAM
SO THE LANGUAGES OF THE WORLD MAY PROSPER!
“The language battle must be fought on a global scale.
We want the world of tomorrow to be rich, abundant,
multiple and creative. For it is from the confrontation of
ideas, the dialog of civilizations and, first of all, through
the exchange of words that progress is born and peace is
fostered.”
Jacques Chirac
Speech given to Portuguese cultural and academic leaders/
Porto, February , 
Approximately , languages are spoken on earth.
! % of Internet pages are written in only languages.
! % of languages are spoken by only % of the world’s population and  of
these are spoken by fewer than  individuals.
! On average, a language dies out every  days, according to UNESCO experts.
! If urgent measures are not taken, % of the world’s languages may well disappear during this century.
!
WHY MUST THE WORLD’S LANGUAGS BE PROTECTED?
! Because the death of a language signals the loss of traditional knowledge that
is only transmitted orally: an irreplaceable loss of heritage;
! Because the death of a language enshrines the relegation of fragile populations: it involves a social collapse; because this social collapse is an injustice
containing within it the seeds of violence;
! Because the death of a language impoverishes cultural diversity, which is inseparable from biodiversity.
It is now known that before the European conquest, Amerindians mastered
the art of preparing their soils with micro-organisms that naturally
regenerated the soil, thereby ensuring its continued fertility. Through
their methods of nurturing the forests, these same Amerindians, whose
knowledge is now lost, contributed to stabilizing the world’s climate.

CULTURE IS AN ESSENTIAL COMPONENT OF
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
For all these reasons, The UN considers the issue of saving languages to be strategic one.
 has been proclaimed the “international year of languages.” The Fondation
Chirac answers to the call made by the UN and UNESCO so that the languages of
the world may prosper.
“Language is not only an instrument of communication. It defines culture, nature, history, humanity and
ascendance. The preservation of vanishing languages is
vital for the cultural richness of the legacy of our
human patrimony. Language sustains traditions, instills
knowledge of and respect for our past and the planet
on which we live and links communities across borders
and the ages.”
“The UN works for Cultural Diversity” campaign
THE SOROSORO PROGRAM
Named after an Araki word – a language now spoken by only eight people in
Vanuatu, a group of Pacific islands – meaning “breath, speech, language,” the
SOROSORO program resolutely fits within the scope of the struggle to defend cultural diversity recognized and taken up by UNESCO as a necessary condition for
development and the maintenance of peace.
For the Fondation Chirac, it essentially concerns an effort to participate in the race
to safeguard endangered languages, making use of digital technologies now
available in collaboration with international researchers who are already
engaged in the effort.

THE PROGRAM’S PRIMARY DEVELOPMENT GOALS INCLUDE:
A digital encyclopedia of languages, an audiovisual database on threatened
languages and cultures comprised of images and sound recorded specifically for
the database or collected across the globe, then saved for posterity according to
an ad hoc digitization and preservation program;
! A web-based television channel dedicated to languages with webcasts of short
films, intended for the general public, based on the sounds and images collected
for the database;
! The restitution of data to the communities concerned, which will enable them
to take full ownership of them, namely for purposes of educating children in their
native tongues and to facilitate transmission of knowledge of their traditional culture.
!
What links all humanity is not a unified language and culture, but rather the effort
all people must make to communicate their language, beliefs or culture to others.
Thus, it is precisely through the act of communicating across and beyond our
differences that we build human solidarity. Because Sorosoro is an open
undertaking founded on the principle of sharing, the program seeks to foster
a dynamic renewal of diversity, because it both a prerequisite for sustainable
development and a promise of peace.
Rozenn Milin
Sorosoro Program Director
Born in Brittany, she became an early militant for the defense of the Breton language. Historian by training, her research focused notably on the Celts of ancient
times (The Celts and Death in Ancient Times according to Greek and Latin texts
and Human sacrifice and the Celts of Ancient Times).
Journalist, radio and television newscaster, producer, director and actress, she has
worked for FR, the BBC, HTV, SC and Arte.
From  to , she developed, launched and then directed TV Breizh (TF
Group).
From  to , she was on mission at the French Embassy in Beijing, in charge of cinema, television, radio and new technologies.
Since early , she has been directing her energies to designing the Sorosoro
program, which she is now implementing for the Fondation Chirac.
Contact: [email protected]
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