THE FOUNDATION: FROM FIELD ETHNOGRAPHY TO SOCIAL ENGINEERING
Having grown up at the heart of a region where children move fluidly between households and where traditional fostering is a practice as ancient as the knowledge systems it has coexisted with, Dr Fondo developed, from an early age, a keen sense of observation for the endogenous dynamics that structure the lives of Malian families. It is this lived closeness to field realities, later refined through years of rigorous research, that has guided his academic work, informed his publications, and today grounds the strategic vision of the Réseau EnfanceAfrique.org.
A PhD holder in Ethnology, associate researcher at the LIRCES Laboratory (Université Côte d'Azur) and President of AMAPISE (Malian Association for the Support and Promotion of Endogenous Know-How Initiatives), Drahmane Fondo stands as an indispensable bridge-expert within the child protection and social cohesion ecosystem in West Africa.
Drawing on more than 8 years of immersive ethnography and multi-sited fieldwork — from the nomadic realities of northern Mali to the working-class neighborhoods of Bamako, through the circles of Ségou and Mopti —, he has chosen to move beyond pure academic production to design operational intervention frameworks, now mobilized well beyond the sole question of fostering. His methodology rests on a strong conviction, tested as much in family mediation as in land conflict resolution or the reintegration of displaced populations: the sustainability of any protection or reconciliation solution depends on its alignment with the anthropological structures and cultural codes specific to each community.
CROSS-DISCIPLINARY EXPERTISE CRITICAL FOR DONORS
Dr Fondo operates at the intersection of several key areas of expertise, essential for ensuring the scientific rigour and impact evaluation of programmes funded by international aid agencies, whether focused on child protection, social cohesion, or the prevention of community conflict:
Clinical Analysis & Anthropology of Childhood and Communities : Modeling of vulnerability trajectories, mapping of early migration flows and crisis-related displacement, and deconstruction of the determinants of rupture — whether related to fostering mechanisms, talibé children, trafficking and the economic exploitation of minor girls, or breakdowns in cohesion between neighboring communities.
Legal Pluralism Engineering
This strategic competency involves designing and operationalizing methodological bridges between state positive law (international conventions, Child Codes, national local governance frameworks) and customary or faith-based systems of social regulation in West Africa. By analyzing the dynamics of normative pluralism on the ground, Dr Fondo defuses conflicts of law, community resistance and intercommunity tensions through concerted endogenous mediation. This engineering makes it possible to translate modern legal standards into the ethical codes of Traditional Authorities, ensuring their acceptability and effective application — whether the situation involves child protection, a land dispute, or post-conflict reconciliation.
Project Cycle Management (PCM)
Backed by solid operational experience gained in Europe and Africa, Dr Fondo leads strategic planning, results-based monitoring and evaluation (RBM), and impact analysis of complex local development, child protection and social cohesion programmes. His approach cross-cuts gender dimensions, technical impact auditing for bilateral and multilateral partners, and capacity-building for institutional actors, civil society, grassroots community organizations, and the Traditional Authorities and Legitimacies mobilized in our mediation programmes.
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PhD in Ethnology (2017 2025) | Université Côte d'Azur, France
Thesis: « Confiage et enfants de la rue au Mali. Une enquête ethnographique multisituée » (SHAL Doctoral School). Highest honours.
- Master's Degree in Ethnology — Political Change & Cultural Productions (2015–2016) | Université Nice Sophia Antipolis, France.
Dissertation: « La pratique de confiage des enfants en milieu traditionnel. Cas de l'hospitalité Tombouctienne au Mali »
Specialization in Social and Cultural Anthropology, Ethnology of Change, local production (networks, institutions, territories), post-war transitions, water/society/sustainable development, visual anthropology, research practice in the humanities and social sciences. - Master's Degree (M1 & M2) – Population and Development Sciences (2012–2014) | Université Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Dissertation: « Les dynamiques de l'hospitalité révélées à la lumière de la crise au Mali : de l'occupation des régions-Nord à leur libération»
Specialization in project cycle management and analysis, economic design and evaluation of policies and projects, quantitative/qualitative monitoring and evaluation, gender and development, demography and development, socio-political and socio-economic analysis of Africa. -
Master's Degree in Public Law (2008–2009) Faculty of Legal and Political Sciences | University of Bamako, Mali
Dissertation: The European Commission in Mali: Mission and Challenges.
Specialization in Administrative Law; Constitutional Law; Administrative Litigation; Civil Law; International Relations; Judicial Institutions; Labour Law; Corporate Law; Criminal Law, etc.
Associate Researcher | LIRCES, Université Côte d'Azur, France (Since 2017)
Conducting qualitative field research, producing landmark scientific publications, and providing expertise in modeling family and community vulnerabilities within contexts of crisis and social change.
President of AMAPISE & Founder of Réseau EnfanceAfrique.org | Mali (Since 2014)
Operational leadership of initiatives promoting endogenous know-how and the co-construction of mediation corridors with Traditional Authorities across the sub-region, now mobilized for child protection as much as for the resolution of community, land and intercommunity conflicts.
Lecturer-Researcher | UPBS & INTEC SUP, Bamako (2024–2025)
Professional training for social action professionals in project management, evaluation techniques, community mediation, and research-action methodologies.
Research Volunteer | SOS Faim, Brussels, Belgium (2015)
Technical collaboration within the AGIR community support programme, funded by the European Union, with a focus on the resilience of rural communities facing economic and social shocks.
Local Development Consultant | BEREY-SARL, Timbuktu (2009–2011)
Technical support to local authorities for the evaluation and implementation of strategic economic and social development plans, including local governance mechanisms and community dispute resolution.
This body of work reflects sustained thought leadership on childhood issues in West Africa:
- Fondo D. (2025). « Les enfants et la vie dans la rue : un phénomène de société répandu en Afrique », Revue Les Tisons, n° 3, pp. 357–370.
- Fondo D. (2025). « Protection et prise en charge de l'enfant au Mali : services étatiques et conventionnés », Journal International des Sachants, 1(3), pp. 976–996.
- Fondo D. (2025). « Les structures privées de protection de l'enfance au Mali : rôle des ONG », Annales de l'Université de Moundou, vol. 12(3), pp. 301–322.
- Fondo D. (2025). « Éducation, confiage et circulation de l'enfant en Afrique de l'Ouest », Revue Kurukan Fuga, vol. 4, n°15, pp. 558–574.
- Fondo D. (2025). « Cartographie des ethnies du Mali : ancrage territorial et anthroposocioculturel », Revue Kurukan Fuga, vol. 4, n°15, pp. 1–15.
ACADEMIC PROFILES AND IDENTIFIERS
🎓 Scholar : https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=fr&user=y_w6iP0AAAAJ
🔬 : https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Drahmane-Fondo
💼 : https://www.linkedin.com/in/drahmane-fondo-520720b7/
🆔 ORCID ID : https://orcid.org/0009-0006-8229-4330
🆔 IdRef : https://www.idref.fr/293536325
🌐 : https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q140795032
📄 (open archive) : https://hal.science/hal-05195055
CONTACTS
For any urgent request, or if one of the addresses above becomes temporarily unavailable, the personal address remains the most reliable point of contact.
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