Involvement principles

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The manner in which CFI is organised is underpinned by abolishing the policy of free services which had been observed in the past, in favour of providing response to demand, in projects which are established in close cooperation with beneficiaries.

ithout losing any of the necessary flexibility in order to confront exceptional situations as they may arise, CFI now harbours the ambition of implementing medium-term projects in order to favour the development of media groups in the southern hemisphere. Partner media groups are involved from start to finish during these projects, so as to outline priority areas and to assist in establishing solutions which shall be implemented with the support of CFI.

These projects, which are exclusively coordinated today by an objective of transferring skills and no longer by replacing skills or providing short-term assistance, can take on various forms : advice and consultancy, training, ad hoc technical assistance, study implementation, production support, supply of programmes supported by programming advice, etc.

Projects led by CFI are largely based on the expertise of France Télévisions teams and the international reputation of the Group which is both a favoured partner and a majority shareholder. Arte France, additionally a shareholder, provides its unique experience in bilateral and European partnerships. More widely, CFI strives to involve the very best on offer in audiovisual expertise from France in favour of cooperation projects, through partnership agreements with the AEF, the INA, AFP, ESJ-Lille, etc.

In an ad hoc manner, in order to respond to exceptional circumstances, CFI may additionally facilitate the implementation of certain projects through alternative public operators by allocating credit. The terms and conditions of this co-funding is established in the framework of bilateral partnership agreements.

CFI is gradually bringing an end to offering completely free services and project support, aside for exceptional cases in extremely fragile countries or countries emerging from a crisis. This desire to be involved financially and to increase the responsibility of partners is in line with the general logic of supporting partners through market practices by providing the latter with tools to construct their own economic and financial models.

CFI does, however, operate in a different manner depending largely upon the specific situation  of each of its partners, the level of development of the countries concerned and the diplomatic position of France towards such countries. In this regard, CFI is able to offer terms for involvement which are adapted to the development stage and ability of beneficiaries to provide contribution and, without replacing exclusively commercial French operators, introduces the conditions required for partners to be much closer to the realities of the financial market system.

CFI is diversifying its scope of involvement beyond traditional television, with priority being granted to the convergence of media in the same manner as has recently led French media to undergo development.

In the specific instance of cooperation with Sub-Saharan Africa, CFI strives, in addition to its projects to support media groups, to provide support to local image productions through a policy of acquiring and distributing content to partners across the entire continent. Generally, the South-South dimension occupies a large position in the involvement of CFI who places the precepts and position held by France internationally at the very heart of its practices.

CFI places its projects and initiatives, as far as possible, into the framework of international bilateral or multilateral partnerships. This initiative, just as with diversification of sources of funding, aims at increasing the impact of French public funds for development (a leverage effect) and ensuring that projects led are placed in a common framework for achieving objectives of widespread development across more than just the audiovisual sector.

Finally, CFI ensures that its activities and initiatives are undertaken in a visible and positive manner to ensure that French Cooperation is highlighted.