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The Sahel-Saharan Assembly’s prime movers team again start a traveling citizen campaign at the end of February, 2010! Enriched by the conclusions reached at the facilitators’ meeting in November 2009, the team once again takes the road of the caravans with new perspectives.

Let us remember that a training session for about ten facilitators took place in Nuakchott at the beginning of November 2009, with Assembly representatives from various cities and towns. The meeting brought the topics collected during the first traveling caravans (see meeting report) closer and made them sink in. From this discussion, three methodological teachings came up:

•  1. A more elaborate thematic view: according to Mamadou Niang, “we can now see Sahel citizens’ needs and priorities more clearly. We have a more precise thematic view, which allows us to go back to the dialog-oriented area with respect to these axes and to start forming thematic circles”.  
• 2. The construction of new articulations and socio-professional networks: the team has come to realize how important the construction of links within the social environment and professionals themselves is.

• 3. The diversity of the people involved in the assembly: once the first stage was evaluated, the team updated its view on the existing dynamics, networks and actors within the Sahel-Saharan societies. This will allow for the enrichment of the spectrum of the invitations to take part and of the collaborations to be built within the assembly.
  
  

Within the coordination circle another teaching, which goes beyond the methodological issues, was also studied in depth: this has to do with the reason and the sense that a citizens’ assembly takes on in the region. This seems obvious, yet we know how this crosses all assemblies and requires time and shared actions to develop.

“We started new caravans, and the Sahel-Saharan assembly begins now,” states Mamadou. The next movements are expected to go to the city of Aiun, where the assembly will physically take place in October 2010, to launch the logistic preparations. They will also head to the cities of Matam and Podor, and most likely to the north of the Sahel region in Mali. This occasion will be taken advantage of to study the complementarities with their little neighbor: Mali’s Citizens’ Assembly.