Bamako has been chosen to host the CAMES founding workshop in January 2026, a strategic meeting aimed at revitalising scientific research and academic harmonisation in French-speaking Africa, within the context of chronic under-investment.
The Malian Council of Ministers on August 20 confirmed that Bamako will host the founding workshop of the African and Malagasy Council for Higher Education (CAMES) from January 19 to 23, 2026.
The event is intended to lay the foundations for a renewed strategy to make scientific research a driver of development in French-speaking Africa, in accordance with the organisation’s 2024-2028 Strategic
Plan.
Founded in the 1960s, CAMES now brings together 19 member states and aims to harmonise university policies and strengthen regional research. The choice of Bamako for this meeting reflects Mali’s desire to assert itself as a central player in academic and scientific cooperation on the continent. The context remains marked by low investment.
National spending on research and development (R&D) represented only 0.2 percent of GDP in 2025, far from the 1 percent target set by the African Union, a threshold that no African country has managed to achieve. In 2010, Mali had reached 0.66 percent, a level that is already exceptional in the region.
The overall effort remains modest on the continent: no African state currently invests 1 percent of its GDP in research.
It is in this context that the Bamako workshop takes on particular significance, seeking to define a common vision and coordinate the initiatives of member countries.
The meeting will bring together university leaders, researchers, ministerial representatives, and technical partners.
It is expected to result in a roadmap aimed at increasing scientific production, strengthening interstate cooperation, and giving greater visibility to the work conducted in the CAMES area.
MD/ac/Sf/fss/as/APA