The fifth edition of Mali’s National Reconciliation Week (SENARE) is being held from Sept. 15 to 21, 2026, with a focus on education and culture as catalysts for social cohesion and preventing community divisions.
The initiative is also open to other members of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
Mali launched the fifth edition of the National Reconciliation Week on Tuesday, an annual event dedicated to dialogue, social cohesion and preventing community divisions.
Addressing the opening ceremony in Bamako, Prime Minister Abdoulaye Maïga advocated a vision of peace that goes beyond a purely military response. He said peacebuilding must also take place in schools, families, communities and people’s minds.
Running through September 21, this year’s edition is being held under the theme: “Education, culture and reconciliation: building resilient citizenship for peace within the AES and the sub-region.”
The programme includes citizens’ dialogues, educational initiatives, cultural and sporting events, solidarity activities and community projects.
Parents, teachers, religious and traditional leaders, artists, media outlets and social media users are being called upon to help prevent divisive rhetoric and foster closer ties between communities.
Held annually since 2022, SENARE has gradually expanded its scope to the Alliance of Sahel States, which brings together Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. The previous edition placed particular emphasis on the three countries’ shared cultural heritage, while the 2026 edition focuses more strongly on education and civic training as tools for consolidating peace.
The event comes just over a year after the adoption of the National Charter for Peace and Reconciliation. Presented to President Assimi Goïta in July 2025, the document was subsequently unanimously approved by the 124 members present of the National Transitional Council.
The charter has since become the reference framework promoted by the Malian authorities following the end, in January 2024, of the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation stemming from the Algiers process.
Bamako has since established an observatory to monitor implementation of the charter and undertaken a reorganisation of its peacebuilding structures. SENARE is therefore one of the public and community-based frameworks being mobilised around these objectives.
MD/te/Sf/lb/as/APA