On the eve of the grand award ceremony for the Félix Houphouët-Boigny – UNESCO Peace Prize, scheduled for Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Abidjan, a day of reflection and dialogue was held on Monday, May 19 at the National Center for Scientific Equipment (CNMS) in Cocody.

Organized in the presence of Professor Jean-Noël Loucou, Secretary-General of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Foundation for Peace Research, the event brought together academics, writers, community leaders, representatives of civil society organizations, as well as students and pupils.

A Rich and Constructive Space for Exchange

The inaugural conference focused on the theme: “Félix Houphouët-Boigny and Peace”, and was followed by a thematic panel discussion on: “The Citizen and the Culture of Peace”. These sessions were enriched by contributions from prominent personalities such as:

• Professor Méké Méité, Chairholder of the UNESCO Chair for the Culture of Peace,

• Mrs. Marie Kouadio Koné, Director General of Social Cohesion,

• Mr. Nabil Ajami, writer and Ambassador for Peace.

Highlighting Peace Education

Presentations were also given by students and pupils who had participated in training sessions held on February 17 and 18 on the theme: “Education in the Values of a Culture of Peace.”

A Call for Vigilance in a Pre-Election Period

In a pre-electoral context marked by certain tensions, participants sounded the alarm on the need to safeguard peace — a value so dear to the Father of the Nation, Félix Houphouët-Boigny — by reviving his ideals: justice, dialogue, social cohesion, and national unity.

 

We created the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Research Award in 2017 to support scientific research on Félix Houphouët-Boigny, now a historical figure who has passed into posterity. The award recognizes the best master’s and doctoral research on Félix Houphouët-Boigny, defended in the public universities of Côte d’Ivoire.

The winner of the doctoral thesis receives a check for one million CFA francs and the winner of the Master’s degree, a check for five hundred thousand CFA francs.

The jury of the Prize is chaired by Professor Daniel Baha Bi Youzan, Dean of the UFR Humanities and Society of the University Felix Houphouet-Boigny.

𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮:
<p style=”text-align: center;”><img class=”alignnone size-medium wp-image-10123″ src=”http://www.fondation-fhb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/PRIX-FHB-DE-LA-RECHERCHE-2022-300×200.jpg” alt=”” width=”300″ height=”200″></p>
Master 2
BAKAYOKO Ousmane Djayéri, of the University Jean Lorougnon Guédé of Daloa
<strong>Governance strategy of ethnic pluralism under the regime of Felix Houphouet-Boigny from 1960 to 1990</strong>

Thesis
ANGU BLEOU Sylvain, of the University of Félix Houphouët-Boigny
<strong>The modalities of the formation of governmental political personnel under Félix Houphouët-Boigny from 1959 to 1993</strong>

<strong>2021:</strong>
<p style=”text-align: center;”><img class=”alignnone size-medium wp-image-10122″ src=”http://www.fondation-fhb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/PRIX-FHB-DE-LA-RECHERCHE-2021-300×200.jpg” alt=”” width=”300″ height=”200″></p>
Master 2
TOURE Kayanton Charles, Félix Houphouët-Boigny University
<strong>Félix Houphouët-Boigny and regional disparities in Côte d’Ivoire from 1960 to 1980</strong>

Thesis
DALLY Jean-François Régis, University of Félix Houphouët-Boigny
<strong>Félix Houphouët-Boigny’s integration policy and ideological reconfiguration of Ivorian cities: the case of the District of Abidjan</strong>

<strong>2020:
</strong>Award not given due to covid-19 pandemic

<strong>2019:</strong>
<p style=”text-align: center;”><img class=”alignnone size-medium wp-image-10120″ src=”http://www.fondation-fhb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/PRIX-FHB-DE-LA-RECHERCHE-2019-1-300×187.jpg” alt=”” width=”300″ height=”187″><img class=”alignnone size-medium wp-image-10121″ src=”http://www.fondation-fhb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/PRIX-FHB-DE-LA-RECHERCHE-2019-2-300×189.jpg” alt=”” width=”300″ height=”189″></p>
Master 2
ZIE Ouattara, Jean Lorougnon Guédé University, Daloa
<strong>The last electoral battles of the regime of Félix Houphouët-Boigny: A cross-section of Fraternité-Matin and Le Nouvel Horizon, 1990 and 1992</strong>

Thesis
GADIE Charles Sylvain, Félix Houphouët-Boigny University
<strong>Migration policy under the governance of Félix Houphouët-Boigny and regional integration: The case of the establishment of allogeneous camps in the department of Bloléquin</strong>

<strong>2018:</strong>
<p style=”text-align: center;”><img class=”alignnone size-medium wp-image-10124″ src=”http://www.fondation-fhb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/PRIX-FHB-DE-LA-RECHERCHE-2018-1-300×200.jpg” alt=”” width=”300″ height=”200″></p>
Master 2
BROU Hada Stéphanie Déborah, Félix Houphouët-Boigny University
<strong>Houphouët-Boigny’s educational policy and national integration</strong>

Thesis
LEOBLE BAKA Célestin, Félix Houphouët-Boigny University
<strong>Félix Houphouët-Boigny and the question of communism in Africa from 1946 to 1989</strong>