Assises Nationales and Fifty Years of Independent Senegal:
The State of the Nation and Re-orientation Prospects (Published by L’Harmattan, 2011)
WARC Book Presentation and Conference, May 5, 2012
Right to Left: Current Senegalese Prime Minister Abdoul Mbaye presiding, with former Senegalese Prime Minister Mamadou Lamine Loum and WARC Director Ousmane Sene.
According to Senegal’s recently appointed Prime Minister Abdoul Mbaye, if the country could implement all the recommendations contained in the proceedings of the Assises Nationales, the country would be the best democracy in the world. On a hopeful note, Prime Minister Mbaye noted that Senegal’s newly elected President, Macky Sall, is eager to consider many of those recommendations in order to advance democracy, good governance, and economic equity and prosperity in Senegal.
When the Assises Nationales opened at Méridien President Hotel and Conference Center in Dakar on June 1, 2008, it was attended by 140 of Senegal’s greatest minds, major decision makers, and religious and political leaders. All agreed to review the ethical, economic, political, cultural, and social situation in Senegal, and to come up with recommendations to be submitted to the Senegalese president and his government for possible implementation.
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Among the audience, former Senegalese Prime Minister Moustapha Niasse (second from right) and author Cheikh Hamidou Kane (far right).
In an attempt to open up perspectives and find consensual, comprehensive, effective, and sustainable solutions to Senegal’s problems, the group investigated all major walks of life in Senegal. Their investigations resulted in a book presented at the West African Research Center (WARC) on Saturday, June 5th, by Senegal’s former Prime Minister Mamadou Lamine Loum and former UNESCO Director General Amadou Mahtar Mbow. Ms. Leila Ben Salem, a Tunisian scholar established in Dakar who attended the event, noted that the proceedings of the Assises Nationales in Senegal could also be a source of inspiration for other countries throughout Africa.
The West African Research Center was pleased to host this important event, with more than 230 senior government ministers and officials, civil society leaders, academics, political leaders, senior civil servants, public and private sector decision makers, reporters, and others in attendance – making June 5th a red-letter day for the West African Research Center and all of Senegal!