On behalf of the MSAS 2016 conferences organizing committees, we are very pleased to welcome you to take part in the ninth MSAS conferences, to be held on the University of Bamako campuses from July 31 to August 5, 2016. For this ninth edition, we are excited to present an expanded program, with concurrent thematic conferences to encompass a broader range of disciplines and interests, all vital to the strengthening of scientific research and higher education in Mali and Africa. MSAS 2016 conferences will be the place for you to review the progress made by Africa-based research institutions and by the diaspora, to meet the next generation of Malian scientists, and to initiate the promising partnerships of the future with colleagues from around the continent and beyond. Beautiful Bamako will greet participants with a delighting opportunity to experience the legendary Malian hospitality - the 'Jatigiya', while opening a fresh window on a changing, dynamic, and optimistic Africa. A new socioeconomic thrust which, to be sustainable, will require even more trust in research, more quality in higher education, more investments in science. We look forward to sharing that vision with you in Bamako: see you soon at MSAS 2016 symposia !
Dr Mohomodou Houssouba
President of MSAS
SGAS/SSEA/SSAS, Basel, Switzerland