It is placed under the direction of Professor Jean-Émile Charlier. The Committee Éducation, Formation, Socialisation of the AISLF (Association Internationale des Sociologues de Langue Française) is associated with the meeting.

After a long period of hesitation, African universities choose, one after the other, to adapt to the architecture of studies organisation which has been promoted since 1999 by the Bologna process.

The University Commission for the Development (CUD) of the French-speaking Community of Belgium wished to encourage reflection on the passage of African universities to the Bologna model, in particular by supporting the conferences in Dakar (July 2005) and El Jadida (May 2006).

These meetings offered the opportunity to academic officials and researchers from many African countries to confront their analyses to the ones of their European and North-American colleagues. This third conference aims to put at the disposal of African universities all the elements that will enable them to appropriate the Bologna process in a critical way, and to make an object of analysis of it, the treatment of which will contribute to shed light on evolution trends of the relations between North and South countries.

The conference will open space for dialogue for all the African universitiesthat are represented there, with the explicit project of going beyond linguistic and organisational traditions that prevent them from collaborating together and that stir up sterile competition between them. Its aim is also to reinforce connivances between researchers and universitites from the North and the South, which are motivated to produce concepts and theoretical patterns likely to make the ongoing evolutions more intelligible. The general objective of this meeting is to contribute to the analysis of the restructuration of the world research and higher education area by taking an interest in the effects in particular, that it involves as regard universities from the South. Another objective is to determine the means by which those Southern universities can appropriate the quality criteria linked to the Bologna process, without making themselves disqualified and without encouraging a brain drain with negative effects.

Scientific committee

The scientific committee brings together professors who are specialists of education policies from Southern and Northern universities:
Professor Kaumba, Rector of the University of Lubumbashi ; Professor Dale, University of Bristol ; Professor Derouet Institut National de Recherche Pédagogique and University Lyon II ; Professor Nyamba, University of Ouagadougou ; Professeur Sall, University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar ; Professor Charlier, Facultés Universitaires Catholiques de Mons.


Proposals (1.000 words maximum), in French or English, have to be sent for 31 March at the latest, at this address: lmd2007@cud.be

Proposals can deal with the following subjects:

• the decision process that has brought universities or the country to opt for the Bologna model (LMD, 3-5-8);
• the direct or indirect effects of the decision to adopt the Bologna model: reform of the cursus, quality assurance and accreditation, mobility, recognition and joint degrees, professionals masters/research masters and doctoral schools;
• the current evolution of the emerging countries’ universities, their place in globalisation;
• the role of international and/or financial organisations in the promotion of the Bologna model.
  
  The authors will be informed of the decision of the scientific committee on 10 April. The acts of the conference will be published in 2008.
  
  The registration for the conference, lunch and accommodation are done by the CUD for every participant whose papers will have been accepted. Twelve travel grants will be
  allocated to African colleagues first, in function of the ranking of the papers that will be done by the committee. Travel for other speakers will not be taken in charge.
  
  
  Organisation committee
  Cesar Nkuku Khonde, University of Lubumbashi, Félix Ulombe Kaputu, University of Lubumbashi,
  Sarah Croché, Facultés Universitaires Catholiques de Mons.
  
  For complementary informations : lmd2007@cud.be