Education and Training

What would Mali be without its men, without its women and without its children, without all the cultures that constitute the Malian culture? The greatest investment a nation can make is in its men and women in the whole population, not just a small elite better trained than the rest of the country.

Well-educated and trained men and women will have greater opportunity to create wealth locally, as well as jobs. To risk one's life in the Sahara Desert or in the Mediterranean Sea will no longer be seen as inevitable.

Knowledge

Languages

Mali languages ​​to further elaborate our thoughts

All Mali children should have access to school and the education system should improve so as to match the intelligence of the Malians.  In Mali, as in many African countries, multilingualism is the norm and most individuals think in their native language or in the lingua franca. Some abstract notions are also more easily elaborated in the mother tongue, even if other languages ​​are perfectly mastered. For example, many French people who have a perfect command of English need to resort to French to calculate numbers or just to count.

It is therefore important that, at school, children have the opportunity to deepen and have a working knowledge of their mother tongue to the highest level. This will promote critical thinking, especially in relation to exclusively Malian, Sahelian or African notions and concepts that cannot be translated in a non-African language.

Other languages

Although they are not the most spoken languages, French and English are the most widely spread languages ​​around the globe. French is the official language of Mali and should be mastered. Moreover, fluency in this language and English gives virtually unlimited access to all kinds of knowledge from nearly 90 countries. It would be a shame to deprive ourselves of such sources. This would enable the people of Mali to diversify their knowledge-base and better interact with the world.

Pursuing self-knowledge to embrace the changing world

As most countries, we have a rich history and our day-to-day interactions are largely governed by our traditions and cultural values, so much so that we sometimes forget the origins of some traditions and are unsure of their relevance in light of today’s society. 

We have the privilege of having various sources of knowledge, allowing access to history to all. We have our djelis, our manuscripts in Timbuktu, chronicles (Tarikhs), historians, archaeologists, ethnologists etc., which makes Mali one of the few countries in sub-Saharan Africa being able to trace precise historical facts dating back to over a thousand years ago.

Whether traditions are preserved, adapted or abandoned, it is important to know them and the basis of their existence before deciding what to do with them. Understanding our traditions is also primordial as it will allow us to welcome changes in the world and society with flexibility and serenity, without fearing we might lose our cultural identity. It will be indispensable to ensure all the knowledge is made available to all Malians in the most accessible forms possible. To this end, culture will continue to play a leading role.

Excellence

It seems that today, the only way for Malians to guarantee a good higher education for their children is to send them abroad, for instance, to Senegal, the Ivory Coast, Algeria, Morocco, France, and for the wealthiest, to Canada or the United States. That speaks volumes about our confidence in our education system. Public education must be given the means to meet the expectations of rigour and excellence in the training of our children. International partnerships involving fellowships will primarily need to be revived in order to consolidate teachers’ training.

Know-how

Without know-how and without the ability to put theory into practice, knowledge can only be a source of frustration and desire, or even obsession, to leave the country. And of course, even if knowledge enlightens, it cannot allow real independence, real development if there is no autonomy in creation and production.

It is essential that, at any age and in all trades, the Malians receive high-standard training and that each of them has access to it, including women, the unemployed, students, farmers, herders, mechanics.

Furthermore, training and knowledge transfer should always be a pre-requisite to bidding for a government contract.

With knowledge and know-how, the Malians will be able to work better as they will constantly have a sense of who they are, what they are working for and who they are working for. They will be better able to provide for themselves, their loved ones and their community, because solidarity is a key trait in our country and we should preserve it. As a consequence, the people of Mali will lay the bricks for a greater and stronger Mali.