On Friday, February 28, 2020, the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Foundation for Peace Research (FHB Foundation), headed by its Secretary General, Professor Jean-Noël LOUCOU, handed over 2 million CFA francs to the Mié-N’Gou Centre for Functional Rehabilitation in Yamoussoukro, thanks to the financial support of the National Lottery of Côte d’Ivoire (LONACI). This grant will enable the center, established by President Félix Houphouët-Boigny in 1978, to carry out the most urgent rehabilitation work on its buildings. This social action aims to perpetuate the work of the Apostle of Peace.
Category Archives: News
News from the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Foundation in English.
Youth Training and Exchange Workshop on Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue in Côte d’Ivoire – 28 11 2019
On November 28 and 29, 2019, a training workshop was held on the theme: “Youth contribution to the promotion of the culture of peace, non-violence and the prevention of religious extremism” organized by the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Foundation for Peace Research (FHB Foundation) in cooperation with the Institut Afrique Monde (IAM).
This workshop brought together forty young leaders from seventeen faith-based organizations and associations and academics. Its objective was to equip participants with adequate tools for the promotion of peace and social cohesion in Côte d’Ivoire.
Celebration of World Radio Day 2020: the Round Table – 13 02 2020
The West African Network to Fight Against Clandestine Immigration (REALIC) celebrated the 2020 edition of World Radio Day in Yamoussoukro, on 12 and 13 February 2020, under the theme: “the contribution of young people and local media in the fight against illegal immigration”.
In collaboration with the Organisation du Conseil des Jeunes de l’Entente (OCJE), the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Foundation for Peace Research (FHB Foundation), REALIC organised a round table with youth leaders and local media actors. The headquarters of the FHB Foundation in Yamoussoukro hosted, on Thursday 13 February, this round table on two themes: “Youth and irregular migration in Côte d’Ivoire, the role of radio in the struggle” and “Youth and the promotion of a culture of peace during the electoral period”.
Celebration of World Radio Day 2020: the Public Broadcast – 12 02 2020
As part of its outreach activities in the field, the West African Network to Fight against Clandestine Immigration (REALIC), in collaboration with the Organisation du Conseil des Jeunes de l’Entente (OCJE), the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Foundation for Peace Research (FHB Foundation), organised the celebration of the 2020 edition of World Radio Day. This celebration took place on 12 and 13 February in Yamoussoukro, the political capital of Côte d’Ivoire. It focused on two themes, namely: “Youth and irregular migration in Côte d’Ivoire, the role of radio in the struggle” and “Youth and the promotion of the culture of peace during the electoral period”.
Ceremony to present New Year’s greetings to the Secretary General – 25 01 2020
On Saturday, January 25, 2020 at its headquarters in Yamoussoukro, the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Foundation for Peace Research held its traditional New Year’s greeting ceremony for its first leader, Professor Jean-Noël LOUCOU.
The Chief of Staff, Mr. Christophe Kadjané ASSOH, wished, on behalf of all the staff members of the institution, to express the best wishes for the year 2020 to the Secretary General of the institution.
Taking the floor, the Secretary General drew up the assessment of the activities of the year 2019 and the list of the major projects of the FHB Foundation for the year 2020. These major projects are :
- The rehabilitation works of the headquarters buildings with the benevolent solicitude of the President of the Republic HEM Alassane OUATTARA,
- the launching of the activities of the Pan-African School of Peace (EPAP) whose texts relating to its organization and functioning have already been drawn up,
- and the Peace Museum, for which design is in progress.
Following the speeches, the Secretary-General received greetings from all his staff present at the ceremony, which ended with a family photo and a cocktail.
Tribute Study Day to President Auguste Denise – 30 11 2019
On Saturday, November 30, 2019, a study day was held in Yamoussoukro in tribute to President Auguste Denise. Organized by the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Foundation for Peace Research (FHB Foundation), this scientific meeting which brought together politicians, academics, students and civil society personalities with the notable presence of President Auguste Denise’s family celebrated. It was an opportunity to perpetuate the memory of this Ivorian statesman and companion of President Félix Houphouët-Boigny. This celebration is part of an overall policy of immortalizing the former collaborators of the first President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, whose merits are not sufficiently highlighted.
Training and Exchange Workshop for Religious Leaders on Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue in Côte d’Ivoire – 26 11 2019
A training and exchange workshop on interreligious and intercultural dialogue in Côte d’Ivoire was held in Yamoussoukro from November 26 to 27, 2019, organized by the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Foundation for Peace Research (FHB Foundation) in partnership with the Institut Afrique Monde (IAM) for religious leaders. It brought together some 40 Christian and Muslim leaders on the theme: “Contribution of religious leaders to the promotion of the culture of peace, non-violence and the prevention of religious extremism in Côte d’Ivoire“.
Opening of the Exhibition on the train from Abidjan to Ouagadougou – 25 11 2019
On November 25, 2019, the opening of the photographic exhibition on the theme: “The train from Abidjan to Ouagadougou: 1898-1958” took place at the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Research Foundation (FHB Foundation). This exhibition was organized by the association “Images et Mémoires” in partnership with the FHB Foundation, the History Department of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny University and the Institute of African History, Art and Archaeology (IHAAA). It aimed at raising awareness of the active participation of Côte d’Ivoire in the implementation of the railway from 1898 to 1958. Photographs illustrating the vision of the railway, the engineering railway school, the earthworks, the completion and laying of the track marked this exhibition.
The FHB Foundation received two awards at the first edition of the “African Foundations Awards” (AFA)
The 1st edition of the “African Foundations Awards” (AFA), organized by the Africa Event agency, took place on Saturday 16 November 2019, at the CRRAE-UMOA conference room in Abidjan-Plateau.
Doudou Stevens Cissé, Executive Director of Africa Event, took the opportunity to explain the motivations of this event: “For a long time, foundations and associations have been confused because both are dedicated to the general non-profit interest. Today their characteristics are very different. While an association is the grouping of several people with the will to act together around a common objective, a foundation exists by the irrevocable allocation of assets for the realization of a work of general interest. A foundation is private money made available to a public cause. If both are necessarily non-profit-making, the association can defend the interests of an organized group: former students of a school, defenders of the environment, while the foundation is an association dedicated to the general interest. The State’s supervision is there as a guarantor of the public utility. The association disappears with the dispersion of its members while the foundation can survive. Governance is very different. An association is by nature democratic in nature, decisions are taken by the general assembly during which each member has one vote, while the foundation has a governance based on a board of directors that takes decisions”.
16 award-winning foundations plus 3 special prizes
This ceremony was also the occasion to award 16 foundations for their numerous efforts to improve the daily lives of the population. Among others, the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Foundation for Peace Research, which was awarded the AFA Super Prize and the Peace Prize, the Magic System Foundation, which was awarded the Education Prize and the Amadou Hampâté Ba Foundation, which left with the African Cultural Heritage Prize. In addition to these awards, special prizes were also awarded to the Children of Africa foundations (led by the First Lady of Côte d’Ivoire, Dominique Ouattara), Congo Assistance and Servir le Sénégal.
According to the president of the jury, Makani Diaby, 1st vice-president of the Senate, these Awards were awarded according to the following criteria: “To be a foundation. Have at least 3 years of existence on January 30, 2019. Be active on the African continent or in the African diaspora. Have a functional website, have already carried out quality actions in the field, having a lasting impact on beneficiaries. Be proposed by the organizing committee, associations, the media or a third person as a foundation”.
Leading the inaugural conference of the 1st edition of the Africa Foundations Awards on the theme: “African Foundations, Perspectives and Impacts on the African Continent”, Professor Aliou Mané, President of the Atlantic University, underlined the “imperative” need to legislate only for foundations. For him, the need to create a specific legal framework for foundations lies in the role they play in the socio-economic development of countries.
“Many schools and health facilities that we encounter in isolated areas have been built and are the subject of sustained attention from foundations in general. If the foundations did not exist, they would have had to be invented. Fortunately, like their counterparts in the northern hemisphere, many African and African-based foundations continue to support public action. Whether it is a question of creating banking institutions, oil companies, electricity companies, cellular telephone companies, initiated by public or private personalities, foundations act” he argued.
For him, the challenges of development, the specificity of the problems according to the regions and sectors of the population concerned, require that NGOs and associations take charge of the training of management staff and the management of daily activities. “Managers and foundation execution staff must be supervised to ensure that the destination of the funds made available to them is an effective destination and that the money does not disappear along the way. The qualification of the agents responsible for identifying, identifying, evaluating and carrying out material and financial support tasks is the essential basis for the success of their actions”. According to the academic, this will avoid the losses observed in the management of the administration of foundations and in the identification of the destinations of contributions in equipment and finance. The second conference was moderated by Diabaté Fatoumata, Deputy Executive Secretary, DG Lonaci Advisor on the theme: “Theme: Foundations, social actions and the well-being of African populations”.
Source: Intelligent d’Abidjan on November 19, 2019. (in french)
