Following the restoration of a democratically elected government in Mali, Embassy Bamako’s Public Affairs Section (PAS) marked the week of January 27 with the full return of programming to the country’s regions. Over the next six weeks, PAS employees will be conducting a series of civic education workshops in three regional capitals – Sikasso, Kayes and Segou. During the lecture series’ first stop in Sikasso, more than 600 students and nearly five dozen teachers participated in the three-day program, designed and taught by a professor from Bamako. Conducted in Arabic and aimed at the country’s religious schools (medersas), the curriculum has received support from the Ministry of Education. In addition to the workshops, PAS representatives met with representatives of the High Islamic Council, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Culture, and the Ministry of Youth and Sports to discuss future collaboration. They also conducted a pre-departure orientation for four participants in an upcoming three-week exchange program with American high schools.