Lomé Opens 2nd RARE Forum to Enhance Educational Resources

Education

Wednesday, 25 June 2025 05:52

Lomé Opens 2nd RARE Forum to Enhance Educational Resources

(Togo First) - Lomé has been hosting the second edition of the African Meetings for Educational Resources, known as RARE, since Tuesday, June 24. Initiated and funded by the French Development Agency (AFD), and implemented by UNESCO and the Institut Français, the project aims to improve equitable access for primary and secondary school students to a broad range of high-quality educational resources.

Over three days, representatives from Ministries of Education and Culture will gather. They will join book industry professionals, including publishers, booksellers, and authors, from 13 French-speaking sub-Saharan African countries. The participants will address various themes. The goal is to highlight progress made since 2020, share lessons learned, and plan how to sustain these achievements.

"These three days mark more than just another edition. They represent the culmination of five years of shared effort, collective commitment, and innovation in service of educational quality in Francophone sub-Saharan Africa," said Guillaume Husson, Head of the Education sector at UNESCO’s West Africa Regional Office. "Since 2020, the Educational Resources project has supported 13 countries in a bold initiative. This initiative is to rethink, structure, enrich, and provide access to relevant, inclusive resources adapted to local contexts. National policies that are more grounded in each country's realities are beginning to emerge."

Participants hope the event will strengthen collaboration between public and private sectors, educational stakeholders, and technical partners. They also aim to improve the quality of resources, considering new digital tools, and encourage sharing across countries. Most importantly, they seek to ensure real access to educational materials for those who need them most, including students, teachers, and schools.

Isaac Tchiakpe, Minister of Technical Education, Vocational Training, and Apprenticeship, emphasized Togo’s commitment. "Since 2020, Togo has undertaken a series of structural reforms to deeply modernize its education system and boost its effectiveness," he stated. "These reforms, built around the Government Roadmap (FDR 2020 to 2025) and the Education Sector Plan (PSE 2020 to 2030), reflect our commitment to making education a cornerstone of human and economic development in our country." He reiterated Togo’s dedication to advancing educational resources.

The first edition of RARE took place in 2022 in Dakar, Senegal.

REFORMS OVERVIEW

STARTING A BUSINESS (more info)

At the fifteenth position, worldwide, and first in Africa, under the Starting a Business index of the 2020 Doing Business ranking, Togo sustains its reformative dynamics with more reforms….

ENFORCING CONTRACTS (more info)

Compared to some years ago when it was one of the lowest rankers under the Doing Business’ Enforcing Contracts indicator, Togo, leveraging many efforts to improve its business climate, was able to jump significantly on the index in the recent years... .

CONTRACT EXECUTION (more info)

Creation of special chambers of commerce for small debts • Creation of chambers of commerce at the Court of Appeal • Civil and commercial cases now handled by distinct clerks • Establishment of commercial courts in Lomé and Kara • Lawyers and bailiffs now have access to the FORSETI COMMERCIAL platform • A maximum period of 100 days was fixed to settle a commercial dispute .

TRADING ACROSS BORDERS (more info)

In comparison to previous years,Togo has significantly improved its ranking under the“Trading across borders” indicator by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

In comparison to previous years, Togo has significantly improved its ranking on the “Trading across borders” index by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitalization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

CONSTRUCTION PERMIT (more info)

After moving from the 133rd to 127th place under the 2020 Doing Business’ construction permit index, Togo intends to reiterate this feat in the coming edition of the global ranking. To this end, it has introduced this year multiple reforms.

GETTING ELECTRICITY (more info)

Over the past two years, Togo’s ranking under the Doing Business’ Getting electricity and water indicator has increased consistently. Owing this performance to multiple reforms aimed at making it easier for businesses to access power and water, Lomé plans to introduce even more reforms this year to keep up its improvements.

REGISTERING A PROPERTY (more info)

Out of all the 'Doing Business’ indicators, Property Registration is where Togo has improved the most since 2018. Indeed, after spending years in the lowest part of this ranking, the country now seeks to beat Rwanda which is the best performer on this index in Africa. To do so, Lomé has been introducing many reforms, with the latest batch implemented this year.

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT (more info)

From professionalization to digitization, through legislative regulations, Togo’s public procurement framework is constantly being modernized. Several reforms have been implemented to improve the sector much to the benefit of the private sector, which is the focus of the National Development Plan.

PAYING TAXES AND DUTIES (more info)

To improve its business environment, Togo introduced some important reforms related to the payment of tax and duties. From the replacement of some taxes to the cancellation of others through exemptions, the country has only one objective: offer the most attractive tax framework to investors and economic operators. To achieve this, the authorities relied on digitization.