France supports innovative partnerships in Africa with the “Franco-Ivorian Hub of Education”

In his speech in Ouagadougou in November 2017, Emmanuel Macron, president of the French Republic, expressed in the following words his vision of an active Francophonie to a young African audience: “Improving your institutions and university courses means multiplying partnerships, crossed trainings, and joint degrees, to fill your expectations and help you better learn from one another.” 

That was the mindset in which Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, and Amadou Gon Coulibaly, Ivorian Prime Minister, officially opened on October 18 in Abidjan a “Franco-Ivorian regional education hub” to help African and French students to benefit from joint trainings or pass joint degrees issued by universities based in France or Ivory Coast.

So far, the platform includes 56 trainings boasting internationally-acclaimed quality certifications. Eventually, 100 trainings should be included in the project.

The idea is to group trainings from both countries, organise them in a network and create bridges. The hub will allow Ivorian students to follow French programs from the Ivory Coast, but also have the possibility to come to study in France or to do an internship there.

For the French minister in charge of Foreign Affairs, who publically spoke during the launch, this is a “major innovation, because this shuffles a new deal for a traditional hand to innovate in cooperation for university training (...). We are putting in practice what I call the Francophonie of intelligence”.