The doctor honoris causa title received in Brazzaville on 13 August honours a conviction President Macky Sall carries into his candidacy for the office of UN Secretary-General: a country is built first through its schools. Education forms the citizens, workers and professionals without whom no institution holds.
Development begins with the school. A road, a hospital, an administration are worth only the women and men trained to run them. Investing in education funds everything else at the source. The states that reduced poverty over time schooled their people first.
A budget that states the priorities. The share of public resources devoted to schooling measures what a state expects of the future. Across his twelve years leading Senegal, President Macky Sall kept training and higher education among his spending priorities, even through years of budget constraint.
From the school to peace. A young population that is educated and occupied removes part of a crisis's fuel. Where education retreats, divides deepen and armed groups recruit. President Macky Sall's candidacy joins these threads: no lasting peace without development, no development without education.
Experience in running a state. Twelve years as head of state and the chairmanship of the African Union in 2022 underpin these commitments. That experience explains why the vision statement filed with the United Nations frames its proposals as obligations: peace, security and development conceived together; a renewed multilateralism; stronger governance of the Organization.
Africa at its heart, the world in its sights.
The doctor honoris causa title was awarded in Brazzaville on 13 August 2026. Read all public positions at www.mackysall.net