Mr. Minister of Secondary, Tertiary Education and Scientific Research,
Ministers,
Honorable Members of Parliament,
Mesdames and Mr Ambassadors and Representatives of Regional and International Organizations,
Mr. Secretary General of CAMES,
Madame and Mr Presidents of Universities,
Mr. Governor of the Northern Region,
Mr. High Commissioners,
His Majesty NabaKiiba,
Mr. Mayor of the City of Ouahigouya,
Authorities of the Northern Region,
Honorable Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Students,

The Ouahigouya Institute of Management (ISGO) is a tertiary education institution in management that aims to be a center of excellence in Africa. The current and temporary school site includes three infrastructure units. The Bloc « A » building houses rooms for training and for tutorial and practical work. Bloc « B », the Administration building, includes the offices of the Director General of GISGO-SM and the administrative staff, the meeting rooms, the computing center and the library. Bloc « C » is intended for social activities: it will house a small health facility for emergency visits and care, a cafeteria, a restaurant and a cybercafé.

Training at ISGO is professional in nature. It is offered over a minimum of three years and is designed on the basis of the LMD model (Licence, Masters, Doctorate). The M2 Masters, which represents five years of study after the Baccalauréat, is the main degree granted by the Institute. Training aims to impart to students theoretical knowledge and professional skills in Economics, Finance, Law and Management. The training will prepare students for employment in Accounting, Audit, Management Control, Banking and Insurance. It will also allow interested students, graduating after the three years of studies, to continue their study program so as to get a Master’s degree or a Doctorate.

From the start, a choice was made to offer training on a bilingual basis (French, English) so as to prepare students to meet the challenges of regional integration and globalization. It will make it possible to adhere to international academic standards as compared to European and North American   graduate schools.
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Admission to ISGO is based on a competitive process aimed at selecting the students with the best potential to learn from the quality training offered by the school.
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The dominant colors of the GISGO-SM logo are green and red, which both reflect life with nature and liveliness. The letters of the GISGO-SM logo are arranged in the shape of the letter Y, portraying a person reading an open book, a symbol of the quest for knowledge. Represented in filigree in the logo is the Monument of King NabaKango, founder of the city of Ouahigouya, which he made the capital of the Kingdom of Yatenga. This filigree thus represents the reassuring strength on which GISGO-SM leans.

Before concluding, I should point out that GISGO-SM has acquired a piece of land of a little over 15 hectares, at the entrance of Ouahigouya, on the Ouagadougou road, to build its permanent campus. I will leave it to the Chairman of the Board to tell you more about this important part in the project objectives.

Ministers,
Honorable Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
 I thank you for your kind attention.

STATEMENT BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE GISGO-SM
STATEMENT BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE GISGO-SM BOARD
AT THE OFFICIAL INAUGURATION CEREMONY OF ISGO
(Ouahigouya, 10 February 2007)

Mr. Minister of Secondary, Tertiary Education and Scientific Research,
Ministers,
Honorable Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

First of all, please allow me to give thanks to God for allowing us to gather here, in the historic city of Ouahigouya, to take part in the solemn ceremony that marks today, the inauguration of the temporary facilities of ISGO – the Ouahigouya institute of Management.

I would also like to ask the permission of His Majesty NaabaKiiba, King of Yatenga, of the Minister of Justice, and of the Governor of the Northern Region, on their behalf and on behalf of the founders of the Ouahigouya Institute of Management, to once again, welcome the honorable guests and friends who are here today at this official inauguration ceremony. I ask them to allow me to warmly thank Mr. Joseph Paré, Minister of Secondary, Tertiary Education and Scientific Research, for honoring us by accepting to chair this ceremony in spite of his very busy schedule. We would like to salute his commitment to education and training.
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My statement will stress three points:

first, the primary motivation of the founders of GISGO-SM;
second, the reasons behind the choice of the location of the Institute;
and finally, the creed of GISGO-SM, that is, the guiding principles of its actions.
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What is the primary motivation of the founders of GISGO-SM?
The motivation of the founders of GISGO-SM is to bring their modest contribution to training in Africa, using the highest academic standards in the world, men and women who will command respect wherever they go. This motivation is based on two beliefs: one, the belief that this idea is feasible; and secondly, the deep conviction that, without sound education and training, there can be no individual freedom, nor economic and social development.
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In practice, for the founders of GISGO-SM, all salaried working professionals, it is a matter of putting together their modest resources so as to contribute to African development in a key area that they know very well: high level academic and professional training in management. By so doing, we believe that we are giving back to younger generations, what the country gave us.
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Why did we choose Ouahigouya as the location of the Institute?

………the observation leads us to point that great universities and graduate schools, among the most famous, have been located outside big urban areas. The observation also shows that a new dynamic urbanization resulted from the establishment of these universities and graduate schools.
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In fact, it is evident that being away from big urban centers can offer favorable conditions for study, thinking and academic activities. Ouahigouya appears to us to be an excellent location because it offers real opportunities in the areas of housing, fresh food supplies, quality infrastructures and international meetings, among other reasons.

Lastly I cannot help but feel, together with the other founders of GISGO-SM, a sense of pride for the pioneering act of creating a high level school of tertiary education in such a historic city as Ouahigouya, the capital of the Yatenga Kingdom.
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What is the creed of the GISGO-SM Group?

The Ouahigouya Institute of Management (ISGO), is intended to be the hub of a larger and more diversified network of institutions with a mission to provide quality training for the ECOWAS countries and all of Africa.
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To achieve the objective of excellence in training, members of the faculty are equally selected on the basis of stringent academic criteria among university professors in the region, and also among professors from European and American universities and graduate schools.
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I would also like to tell you that right from the start of the process of formally creating the GISGO-SM Group, we established contacts with the University of Ghana Business School at Accra and the “Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales” in Paris, two graduate schools with which we would like to explore and sign mutually beneficial cooperation agreements.
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To ensure that excellence will remain the fundamental objective of GISGO-SM, we plan to put in place, before the end of the academic year, a Scientific Committee, a consultative, voluntary and independent body, that will oversee the observance of the highest academic standards, in the definition of training programs, the selection of students, the evaluation system and the selection of the teaching staff. The criteria to be used will, above all, meet the prescriptions of CAMES, the African and Malagasy Council for Higher Education.

For now, we wish to express our gratitude for the willingness to extend a friendly support to GISGO-SM shown by great specialists like Professor Michel FiligaSavadogo, former Rector of the University of Ouagadougou, Professor MoustaphaKassé, Honorary Dean of FASEG of Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar and member of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Morocco and Professor RolandeDeneuf, who trained an entire generation of managers at Cheikh Anta Diop University.

Regarding our program of continuing education and training, our very first seminar will be held in March 2007, and the topic will be « Banking Audit ». It will be conducted by the best specialists of the sub-region in this area, with high level experience in commercial banking and an excellent knowledge of banking rules, reinforced by additional experience at the Central Bank or the WAMU Banking Commission.
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To better manage the assistance granted to our current or future students by our partners, including individuals, organizations, Government and cooperation agencies, I would like to inform you that the Group will put in place a Guidance and Ethical Monitoring Committee. This independent body, which will hopefully include representatives of donors and benefactors, will be in charge of ensuring transparency in the use of funds to support students who might have difficulties in meeting the financial requirements of training.
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We have acquired a piece of land of fifteen hectares, on the outskirts of the city and close to the Ouagadougou road to build, using state of the art design and architecture, integrated infrastructures that will form our main campus. These infrastructures will include training rooms, auditoriums, student housing, restaurants, sports and entertainment facilities. The complex will be set in a reforested area that will be organized so as to contribute to the restoration of the diversity of local tree species.

SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY Mr. JOSEPH PARE, MINISTER OF SECONDARY, TERTIARY EDUCATION AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AT THE INAUGURATION
SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY Mr. JOSEPH PARE, MINISTER OF SECONDARY, TERTIARY EDUCATION AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AT THE INAUGURATION CEREMONY OF THE TEMPORARY HEADQUARTERS OF THE OUAHIGOUYA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT (ISGO)
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(Ouahigouya : 10 February 2007)

 Mr. Minister of Justice,
Mr. Assistant Minister of Technical and Vocational Education,
Mr. Secretary General representing the Governor of the Northern Region,
Mr. Secretary General of the African and Malagasy Council for Higher Education (CAMES),
Madame the Representative of the West Africa Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) Commission,
Mr. Mayor of the City of Ouahigouya,
Mr. Chairman of the GISGO-SM Board,
Judiciary Authorities,
His Majesty NaabaKiiba, King of Yatenga,
Professor SavadogoFiliga Michel, former Rector of the University of Ouagadougou,
Traditional and Religious Leaders,
Military and Paramilitary Authorities,
Regional and Provincial Directors and Heads of Services,
Honorable Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to be among you today, on behalf of the entire Government, to take part in this inauguration ceremony, which constitutes an important stage in the life of an institution.
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It is also my pleasure to salute your commitment to teach our younger brothers and sisters and our children, Africa’s future leaders, the fundamental values of professional rigor, integrity and honesty, so as to orient them to engage in the practice of good governance.
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Mr. Chairman of the GISGO-SM Board,

Allow me to point, based on information that reached me, that the Ouahigouya Institute of Management, in spite of its recent creation, is already having a real economic impact in the region. The benefits for the region will increase over the years, to help make the beautiful city of Yatenga, a true centre of development, especially after the construction of the permanent infrastructures of the Institute.
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A little while ago, the Chairman of the GISGO-SM Board mentioned a Scientific Council for the Institute. This is an innovation that I would like to command because it is the first Institute of higher learning in Burkina Faso to have a Scientific Council.
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………I note with immense satisfaction, Mr. Chairman of the GISGO-SM Board that you have decided to take all necessary action to get your academic programs accredited by the African and Malagasy Council for Higher Education (CAMES). I congratulate you for this decision, which shows, once more, the great care takenin getting this institution started.

For, as we like to say, CAMES is the physician, the one who can tell if things are going well or not. And the presence of the Secretary General of CAMES among us, certainly shows that when the time comes to go to CAMES, it will be to get a well deserved accreditation of the training programs.
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In your statement, Mr. Chairman of the GISGO-SM Board, you also mentioned private-public partnerships. I would like to assure you of the Government’s commitment to supporting private initiatives, and more specifically, in secondary and tertiary education, scientific research, especially in vocational training. As you know, at our Ministry, we have an Assistant Minister in charge of this type of education and training that constitutes the backbone of the program of His Excellency the President of Burkina Faso, « Enduring Progress for a Society of Hope », especially with regard to developing human capital.

Visitors book
Inscription of Pr. Joseph PARE, Minister of Secondary, Tertiary Education and Scientific Research:
This day is a moment of pride for those of us who have had the opportunity to witness the outcome of a great ambition. The creation of ISGO constitutes both a challenge and a vision; the challenge of giving Africans a chance to acquire quality knowledge in the best conditions. A challenge, given the high stakes of training and meeting the strong demand of youth for quality education and training to prepare them in their search for employment in a job market where excellence is the key to success. I would like to encourage the founders, the initiators and all those who, in many ways, are working to make this venture a success. The Ministers in charge of Tertiary Education, of Technical and Vocational Training, of Justice and the Secretary General of CAMES, in whose name I write these lines in the Visitors Book, join me in expressing their support to your action and ambition. May God and our ancestors give you the strength and the means to sustain this ambition born on the land of Yatenga.
Signed by: Pr. Joseph Paré   Mr. HyppoliteOuédraogo    Mr..BoureimaBadini    Mr..Amadou A Sall

Inscription of Mr. Emmanuel Pitroipa and M. Sylvain Rouamba:
On the occasion of the inauguration of the Ouahigouya Institute of Management (ISGO), Mr. Rouamba Sylvain and myself, Pitroipa Emmanuel, are happy to have visited this house of Excellence to which we wish success and long life. We encourage the Chairman of the Board, Mr. OusmaneOuédraogo and the Director General Mr. YabassoréSavadogo of this fine achievement, to stay the course, for the benefit of all the youth of Burkina Faso and of Africa.
May God bless their efforts and grant them success.
Signed by: Mr.. Emmanuel Pitroipa                                                           Mr.. Sylvain Rouamba

Inscription of M. T. Bruno Bambara, Secretary General of UNEEPL (The National Union Private Secular Schools):

Our congratulations and encouragements go to the leader of this great project for high level education and training. May this Institute be protected and shielded by the sacred hand of God that nothing could shake.
May this Institute shine like the sun and the moon. May this temple of knowledge, of science, and the elevation of the Spirit of intelligence, be truly a guarantee of success for the youth of Burkina and Africa.
Signed by: Mr. T. Bruno Bambara