Strengthening Kaolack's International Influence: City Partnerships and Cooperation

Kaolack, a major crossroads city in central Senegal, is known for its commerce and for hosting pilgrims in Médina Baye during the Maouloud. According to a study on Franco-Senegalese twinning, the city is twinned with Mérignac, near Bordeaux (France), and the Departmental Council of Kaolack has formalized a partnership with the German municipality of Osterode am Harz. This partnership originated from linguistic exchanges between the Valdiodio Ndiaye high school in Kaolack and the Tilman-Riemenschneider high school in Osterode, which led to the construction of a multimedia room in Kaolack. The mayor of Osterode also asked his Kaolack host to be Kaolack's ambassador to the State of Hanover to broaden cooperation. Local actors are already inviting the Kaolack diaspora to get involved, particularly during the "Setal sunu rééw" citizen mobilization days. These partnerships remain largely invisible and would benefit from being revived, expanded (education, sanitation, health, commerce, culture), and better funded. This mission mobilizes the diaspora to consolidate these partnerships, identify new partners (twin cities, universities, businesses, donors), facilitate access to international funding, and promote the city's projects.