Meeting at the Yaoundé Conference Center on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, the education ministers of the Francophone world opened the 61st ministerial session of CONFEMEN . On this occasion, Koffi N'Guessan , the Ivorian minister and current president of the institution, advocated for a profound transformation of the role of educators in public policy.

The teacher, the driving force behind educational transformation

For Koffi N'Guessan, the success of education systems rests on a simple premise: no lasting change can occur without teachers. He emphasized the need to shift from viewing the teacher as a mere "executor" to that of a "strategic actor."

"By repositioning the teacher as a central pillar, we are making the strategic choice to put the human being back at the heart of educational transformation," he stated.

An Ivorian assessment marked by advocacy

The minister used this platform to review the achievements of the Ivorian presidency. Under his leadership (and that of his predecessor, Mariatou Koné, to whom he paid tribute), Côte d'Ivoire has worked on three major areas:

1. The international visibility of CONFEMEN.
2. Promoting Francophone expertise in education.
3. The constant plea to make school the foundation of sustainable development.

Heading towards 2030: The challenges of the Yaoundé session

This 61st session, which will close on May 1, 2026 , is a pivotal moment for the organization. Several critical issues are on the delegations' agenda:

1. Governance: Election of a new Secretary General.
2. Strategy: Review of the 2027-2031 Strategic Plan.
3. Follow-up: Implementation of a mechanism to assess progress towards the 2030 goals.
4. Evaluation: Preparation of the international comparisons program for the 2028 edition.

By focusing the debates on "enhancing the teaching profession" , CONFEMEN is tackling the major challenge of the shortage and motivation of teaching staff in the French-speaking world.