karim wade

Two of Endeavor Mining’s employees, Ms. Laetitia Gadegbeku-Ouattara and Ms. Maïmouna Guembre are among the 100 inspiring women in the world of mining (WIM100). They were selected by Women in Mining UK which is an organization which defends the interests of women in the mining sector. The objective is to promote the employment, retention and advancement of women in

industry. For this fifth edition, WIM100 highlights the diversity of talents in the mining sector and “pays tribute to inspiring women whose history is rich, whatever their

role or level.” The 100 women featured were selected for their “inspirational contributions to a stronger, safer and more sustainable mining industry.” One of Endeavor Mining’s employees, Laetitia Gadegbeku-Ouattara is the country manager for Côte d’Ivoire, “she maintains

essentially relations with government entities and national stakeholders and manages the files for the acquisition of mining permits and authorizations and at the same time the negotiation of mining agreements.” She is also the godmother of the women’s association,

AFEMI, at the Endeavor mine in Ity, and mentors women working in the industry to ensure a strong pool of future leaders. As for

Maïmouna Guembre, a mine closure specialist for Burkina Faso-based Endeavour, was one of the country’s first metallurgists. She is also vice-president of AFEMIB, Mining Association in Burkina Faso. She works closely with her colleagues, both

both within Endeavor and in the mining industry, to promote the inclusion of more women. Through the voice of the Executive Vice President Human Resources and Communication, Mr. David Dragone and on behalf of all Endeavor employees, the mining company would like to congratulate Laetitia and Maïmouna “for this incredible achievement. Their inclusion in such a prestigious publication demonstrates not only their expertise in their chosen fields, but also the work they both do to promote the inclusion of women in the industry and raise awareness of the benefits that the mining sector can bring to their communities and countries. It is important

that future generations can be inspired by today’s models,” he said in a statement sent to Dakaractu.

Honored with these accolades, Endeavor Mining is committed to creating an inclusive workplace and promoting gender diversity, with a focus on increasing the representation of women within the company. As a reminder, in 2021, “9% of employees were women and significant efforts are being made to continue to increase this number. At management level, 14% of Committee members

Executive Management of Endeavor are women and 24% of the direct reports of members of the Executive Management Committee are women,” reads the same note.

The National Assembly of Mauritania has adopted a new law introducing national languages ​​in primary education, but the text is contested by the black Mauritanian community who say they fear that Arabic will be imposed on them.

The law was passed Monday evening by a majority of deputies, controlled by the ruling party.

It introduces for the first time science education at the primary level in mother tongues, while imposing the teaching of Arabic to non-Arabs and at least one national language to Arabic speakers, according to official documents. French will continue to be taught from primary school.

The Mauritanian population is made up of Arab-Berber, Haratine (descendants of slaves of Arab-Berber masters, whose culture they share) and Negro-Mauritanian communities, generally of mother tongues of sub-Saharan ethnic groups (Peuls, Soninkés, Wolofs).

Negro-Mauritanian communities have denounced since the country’s independence in 1960 what they call a cultural hegemony of Arabic, the official language spoken by the majority of the population, and are calling for the officialization of their languages.

The new law aims to “put an end to the alarming deterioration of the national education system”, National Education Minister Mohamed Melainine Ould Eyih told the deputies. It results, according to him, “from a debate over a long period which brought together all the skills and national sensitivities”.

The new text constitutes a “progress insofar as children begin their learning in their mother tongue”. It “will allow them to acquire and master knowledge more easily,” opposition MP Kadiata Malick Diallo told AFP.

She suggested an amendment to Article 65 to remove the ambiguity denounced by non-Arabs in the text of the law, but her initiative was rejected, she said.

Article 65 indicates that “Arabic is taught to all children whose mother tongue it is not as a language of communication and as a language of instruction”.

Two people demonstrating against the new text were arrested and five injured Monday evening during a sit-in in front of Parliament before the adoption of the text, the Organization for the Officialization of National Languages ​​said in a statement on Tuesday ( Olan).

The sit-in was organized by the Olan, made up of Negro-Mauritanian activists, who denounced “the repression” against its activists. She considers that “by this law, Mauritania deprives sections of its population of a fundamental right of cultural expression”.

She demands “the immediate officialization of national languages” and denounces article 65 of the new text which, according to her, “consecrates linguistic injustice in the country”.