Ousmane Sy presented his new book “Au fil de mes convictions sur le Mali d’aujourd’hui et de demain” (published by La Sahélienne), on May 9, 2023, at a meeting organized by Kabala University of Arts and Humanities, in collaboration with the MACOTER international joint laboratory.
Ousmane Sy was Minister of Territorial Administration under President Alpha Oumar Konaré, then Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic under interim President Dioncounda Traore in 2012, and Minister of Decentralization and Cities in 2014 under President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta. This native of the Bandiagara region has worked his way up the Malian administrative ladder, from local representatives to major national decision-making positions. He is recognized for his political and intellectual good character by his peers.
At the ceremony, the author explained why he decided to write this book, and summarized his background, experiences and convictions.
The author points out that since 2012, Mali has been plunged into an acute crisis. A crisis that affects institutions, territories and local communities as a whole. For Ousmane Sy, this crisis has created a lack of confidence in the State and the international community. However, he is convinced that the most realistic answers for a sustainable way out of the crisis lie in local territories, among young people and through the empowerment of their local stakeholders. This is what motivated the author to share his convictions on change and the issues and challenges that go with it.
Drawing on the experiences, reflections and numerous interviews contained in this book, the author’s aim in “Au fil de mes convictions sur le Mali d’aujourd’hui et de demain” (In the course of my convictions about the Mali of today and tomorrow) is to “is to invite all readers to reflect on the present and future of the country, the Sahelian region and the continent, and to commit themselves to building models of statehood, democracy and sustainable development.
This book is the testimony of a Malian, Sahelian and African intellectual-administrator concerned with the future of his country, Mali, and tackles issues such as governance, peace, security, decentralization, international cooperation and regional development.
During the ceremony, the discussion led to exchanges between the speakers and the author, on the role of mayors as players in local development, for example, or on Malian democracy and the country’s values.
“The researcher, developer, reformer and public manager that I have been, shares his convictions but also the questions to which answers deserve to be found “.
– Ousmane Sy
The event, which was attended by the LMI MACOTER laboratory jointly headed by Gilles Holder and Fatoumata Coulibaly (IMAF/CNRS), went smoothly and ended with a cocktail reception and book signing.
The book is now available at newsstands in Bamako.
Find out more at https://www.ird.fr/ousmage-sy-presente-son-nouvel-ouvrage-au-fil-de-mes-convictions-sur-le-mali-daujourdhui-et-de
