Mineral and energy resources, the impacts of global warming, migration movements and more… today Africa lies at the heart of some of the strategic issues facing the world. We cannot therefore ignore the question of its development. Despite a health care situation that is all too often lamentable, we have reasons – and a duty – to be hopeful. But only as long as we cast aside preconceived notions and simplistic messages of all kinds. Sub-Saharan Africa, the region on which this exhibition focuses, is not an archaic subcontinent yoked by tradition and stubbornly resistant to the notion of progress. Without copying the Western model, it is undergoing major transformations in all sectors of society. Of course, not all 48 countries are faced with the same emergencies and not all are progressing at the same rate. All the same, there are questions that apply to the whole region, questions that are taxing geographers, economists, agronomists, public health specialists, hydrologists, climatologists and others too. For example, what recent advances can enable African societies to set out on the road to development? And what are the obstacles that have to be overcome to achieve this? The ambition of this exhibition is not to wax lyrical about the role of science and technology, but on the contrary to provide a clear appraisal of the development successes and failures seen in Africa. And to outline possibilities for the future... possibilities that are not without hope.

Isabelle Bousquet et Alain Labouze

Editorial staff Edition: Isabelle Bousquet Maniguet; subeditor/lay out: Chantal Le Restif; picture research: Catherine Le Gallou; production assistant: Catherine Gaudry. Scientific advisors: Georges Courade (geographer, research director, IRD) and Jan Polcher (climatologist, research director, CNRS/IPSL/LMD). Editor-in-chief: Alain Labouze.