Sahelian consultations

Facing up to reality, preparing for the future

The Sahel and West Africa Club (SWAC) Secretariat has launched a pilot foresight exercise at a time when the Sahel is facing unprecedented crises. The Sahelian consultations provide a platform for open exchange between those in the region who are reflecting upon the complex equation of development, governance and stability. By involving actors from civil society, academia, professional organisations and think tanks, it is hoped that these consultations will generate new ways of developing and implementing public policy in the Sahel. They aim to bring these alternative processes, articulated by trans-Sahelian voices often outside governmental and international arenas, to the attention of policy makers to help build a realistic future.

Sahel to come: What today tells us about tomorrow

The SWAC Secretariat has produced an assessment of the inescapable realities and underlying trends of the Sahel. This analysis, featured in Sahel to come: What today tells us about tomorrow, shapes the ideas debated around governance issues in order to generate responses that are based on current and future facts and constraints.

The Sahelian consultations, which received additional financial support from the French Development Agency (AFD), were held throughout 2021, under the aegis of the Honorary President of the Club, Dr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, and with the guidance of an Advisory Board made up of Niagalé Bagayoko (African Security Sector Network - ASSN), Ousmane Sy (Alliance pour Refonder la Gouvernance en Afrique - ARGA), Mahaman Sanoussi Tidjani Alou (Laboratoire d'études et de recherche sur les dynamiques sociales et le développement local - LASDEL) and Gilles Olakounlé Yabi (Think tank citoyen de l'Afrique de l'Ouest - WATHI).

Niamey, et les deux jours ? Proceedings of the Sahelian consultations

The Proceedings of the Sahelian consultations present the exchanges that took place during the plenary session, organised in the LASDEL premises in Niamey, Niger, on 22 and 23 November 2021. The exchanges focused on governance in general and, more specifically, on the constitution of new alliances, hybrid governance practices and territorial reconfiguration. The minutes of the virtual thematic conversations held from August to October 2021, prior to the plenary session, are also attached in the appendices.