News

Thursday 3 March 2022… A workshop was held in Bamako to disseminate research findings on the topic: “The employment potential of women and young people in the sectors and branches of economic activity in Mali”.

Organized by the Centre d’Études et de Renforcement des Capacités d’Analyse et de Plaidoyer, CERCAP (Centre for Studies and Capacity Building in Analysis and Advocacy), in collaboration with the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), the workshop was aimed at sharing the research findings with key stakeholders in Mali.

The workshop was attended by representatives of the relevant government ministries and departments, research institutions, civil society, and the private sector.

The opening ceremony was presided over by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Mr. Abdoulaye TRAORE. In attendance were the Managing Director of CERCAP, Dr. François KONE, and two representatives of the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), Dr. Charles Oduor OWINO and Dr. Dianah Mukwate Ngui MUCHAI. Left to right: Dr Owino (AERC), the CERCAP MD, the MEF SG, and Dr. Muchai (AERC)

After the CERCAP Managing Director’s words of welcome, Dr. Owino, representing the AERC, where he is Publications Manager, presented the Consortium, its network, and its different programmes. For his part, in his opening speech the Secretary General of the Ministry of Economy and Finance reminded the audience of the significance, for the government of Mali, of the research findings being disseminated because they fitted in well with the government’s national policies and priorities.

The highlights of the proceedings were: i) an overview of the project “Growth Sectors for Youth Employment”, GSYE, presented by Dr Muchai; ii) the research findings, presented by Dr. Sountoura; iii) comments from the panellists and experts on employment issues, economic policies, and the demographic dividend; and iv) questions and answers from the audience.

In his closing-ceremony remarks, the CERCAP Managing Director thanked the participants in the workshop for their interest in the research findings and the AERC representatives for the quality of the collaboration between CERCAP and the AERC. For his part, Dr Owino, on behalf of the AERC, expressed his satisfaction with the quality of the organization of the dissemination workshop and with the level of political support, and thanked all the participants for the quality of the discussions. 

The closing speech was delivered by Mr. Diakaridia DEMBELE, Technical Advisor at the Ministry of Economy and Finance. He thanked the participants for their active participation and urged them to use the research findings to better orient public policies in favour of the employment of women and young people in Mali.