Historical

1960: creation of CONFEMEN

The following countries were members of CONFEMEN when it was created in 1960: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Chad, Togo and France.

1st period: 1960 to 1969

The optimism, enthusiasm and euphoria of independence

The generalization of elementary education and literacy seems to be the solution to the problems of development. It was also the period when the will to reform the school programs inherited from colonization was manifested, mainly the French, history, geography and natural science programs.

CONFEMEN operates primarily as a recruitment office for technical assistants for member states and governments.

• 1962: The training of African teachers for the gradual replacement of expatriate teachers is urgent. Education Ministers make it a priority.
• 1964: Most of the concerns of the Conference are directed towards the priority training of education managers.

CONFEMEN emphasizes the training of education executives in general and teachers in particular.

• 1967: A new concern is raised: the adaptation of lessons to the specific needs of countries according to the national objectives proposed by governments.
• 1968: Creation of CAMES (African and Malagasy Council for Higher Education). Entry of Quebec into CONFEMEN, the second non-African member, after France. Appointment of the first Secretary General: Mr Amadou SAMB. Creation of the CONFEMEN Permanent Technical Secretariat (STP) in Libreville. Senegal is “provisionally” responsible for organizing it and making it work.

2nd period: 1969 to 1975

Period of realism but also that of interrogations

CONFEMEN will debate increasingly specific and priority issues and will restrict its field of intervention to increasingly technical issues.
The beginnings of change in its structures and functions are gradually becoming evident.

Is CONFEMEN a meeting during which a change strategy is developed or is it just a meeting of managers and technicians? What are the purposes and above all the financial requirements of education? These are formidable and unavoidable problems. From then on, the questions arose of more ample and regular financing of the Permanent Technical Secretariat and of relations with other international organizations which are also dedicated to the development of education, including the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

• 1969: Canada and the French Community of Belgium join CONFEMEN;
• 1970: In Paris: the meeting of CONFEMEN ministers affirms that we must move from traditional school to school as a means of collective promotion.
• 1972: Meetings of Ministers of Education, which could be held several times a year, now take place annually.

 

The ACCT (which first became the Intergovernmental Agency of La Francophonie (AIF), then the International Organization of La Francophonie) intervened for the first time during the work of CONFEMEN;

• 1973: Haiti joins CONFEMEN;
• 1975: In Paris: the network of CONFEMEN experts responsible for preparing Ministerial Conferences was set up.

3rd period: 1976 to 1985, for a new cooperation

• 1976-1985: CONFEMEN and the Conference of Youth and Sports Ministers of French-speaking countries (CONFEJES) share the same secretariat.
  CONFEMEN adopts a thematic approach to problems and strives to define a methodology for studying and exploiting these themes.
  The implementation of a more systematic process for the study and exploitation of themes gives a new dynamism, leading to a redefinition of the roles of the Permanent Technical Secretariat and the deployment of efforts to engage in cooperation actions in consultation and complementarity with ACCT and UNESCO.
• 1978: Introduction of study themes from which CONFEMEN programs are defined.
• 1979: Luxembourg, Seychelles, Comoros, Djibouti and Mauritius join CONFEMEN.
• 1980: Guinea-Conakry also joins CONFEMEN.
• 1980: Creation of the network of National Correspondents in its current form; the Correspondent of each State or government is responsible for establishing liaison with the Permanent Technical Secretariat;
• 1984: Appointment of Mr. Souleymane DIOP as the second Secretary General of CONFEMEN.
• 1986: The Permanent Technical Secretariats of CONFEMEN and CONFEJES become autonomous again and CONFEMEN moves to new premises.
  5th period: 2002 to 2010: Adoption and implementation of the CONFEMEN Recovery Plan
• 2002: Adoption by the 54th ministerial session of the Recovery Plan and a Framework for Action which revolves around the following four priorities:
  • promote education for all as part of the fight against poverty;
  • mobilize and diversify resources;
  • aim for efficiency in the use of resources;
  • develop the management of education systems.
    Appointment of the fifth Secretary General: Madame Adiza HIMA.

 

Bulgaria becomes a member of CONFEMEN.
Integration of CONFEMEN into the charter of La Francophonie. 2010
Appointment of the sixth Secretary General: Mr. KI Boureima Jacques.

 

 

4th period: From 1986, redefinition of the place and role of CONFEMEN within La Francophonie

The rise of the Francophonie, marked by the Summits of Paris (February 1986), Quebec (September 1987), Dakar (May 1989) and Chaillot (November 1991), does not go without generating some questioning of the structures that want to be give the Francophonie for the future.

• June 1988: Signing of a memorandum of understanding between CONFEMEN and ACCT recognizing the place of the two organizations, harmonizing relations and specifying the respective contribution of each institution in the projects of education to be carried out in common.
• 1988: Accession of Guinea-Bissau.
• 1989: Accession of Cape Verde.

 

Appointment of Mr. Fadel DIA as third Secretary General.

 

• May 1989: In Dakar, CONFEMEN presents projects for the first time at the Summit of Heads of State and Government of countries that speak French.

 

This Dakar Summit allows CONFEMEN to retain education and training as priority areas of activity for La Francophonie.

• 1990: The foundations for the creation of the CONFEMEN Education Systems Analysis Program (PASEC) are defined.
• 1991:
  • March: Switzerland and New Brunswick become members of CONFEMEN.
  • June: Signature of the headquarters agreement between CONFEMEN and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Senegal.
  • November: in Paris, the Chaillot Summit adopts the “global action plan for education and training”, drawn up at the initiative of CONFEMEN in June 1991.

 
PASEC is officially created.

• 1992: June: In Montreal, Extended Conference of Ministers of Education of countries having in common the use of French and 44th CONFEMEN Conference, organized jointly by CONFEMEN and ACCT. This Conference adopts an “action plan” and a program for the next decade.
• 1993:
  Reorientation of CONFEMEN with a view to its anchoring in the French-speaking institutional system.
  This reorientation was sealed by a resolution of the V Francophonie Summit (Mauritius) which reinforced the political role of CONFEMEN.
  The ministerial sessions become biennial.
  Appointment of the fourth Secretary General: Mr. Bougouma NGOM.
• 1994: CONFEMEN outlines the axes of education-training programming in Francophonie.
  CONFEMEN becomes the Conference of Ministers of Education of countries having French in common.
• 1995: The Sixth Francophonie Summit (Cotonou) decides to give priority to basic education.
• 1996: Lebanon, Romania and Vanuatu become members of CONFEMEN.
• 1997: the VII Francophonie Summit (Hanoi) decides on a draft resolution aimed at giving priority to technical education and vocational training.
• 1998: Egypt and Sao Tome E Principe become members of CONFEMEN.
• 2000: Cambodia, Laos and Macedonia become members of CONFEMEN.

6th period: 2011-2018: Centralization of efforts on the quality of education through the in-depth reform of PASEC and the establishment of the Education Quality Observatory

Adoption of a biennial programming cycle based on the results-based management approach (Biennial Action Plan 2011-2012; 2013-2014; 2015-2016; 2017-2018; 2019-2020).

• 2012: Adoption by the 55th ministerial session of an in-depth reform of PASEC (managerial autonomy, creation of a steering committee, establishment of international comparative evaluations, etc.)
• 2013: Adoption of PASEC’s first strategic plan (2013-2016).
• 2014-2016: Implementation of the first international evaluation of PASEC with 10 French-speaking sub-Saharan African countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, Ivory Coast, Niger , Chad, Togo, Senegal), called PASEC2014.
  Publication of the international report and 11 reports (the 10 countries plus Madagascar) of the PASEC2014 evaluation.
• 2016: Establishment of the Education Quality Observatory with five pilot countries (Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Madagascar, Mauritius and Lebanon).< /li>
• 2017: Adoption of PASEC’s 2nd strategic plan (2018-2021).
• 2018: Adoption of the Charter for the Governance of Education Systems.

Launch of the 2nd international evaluation of PASEC with the participation of 15 French-speaking sub-Saharan African countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Guinea, Mali, Madagascar, Niger, Democratic Republic of Congo , Chad, Togo, Senegal), called PASEC2019.
Appointment of the seventh Secretary General: Pr. Abdel Rahamane BABA-MOUSSA.