--- description: Find out why Mamadou Amadou Ly is one of the 100 most influential people of 2026. title: Mamadou Amadou Ly: The 100 Most Influential People of 2026 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0a20638ae8c8fa5a/69dfb49ad9327413a212c393/T100-2026-Web-Mamadou-Amadou-Ly-social.jpg?branch=production --- Apr 15, 2026 # Mamadou Amadou Ly by [Catherine Russell](/author/catherine-russell/) ## Catherine Russell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  Courtesy of Mamadou Amadou Ly Imagine the frustration of sitting in a classroom unable to understand the language spoken by the teacher. We know empirically that children learn better when their native languages are integrated in their early years of schooling—and for more than three decades, Mamadou Amadou Ly has worked to ensure just that. He works passionately to strengthen education in West and Central Africa by supporting the use of native languages. Under his leadership, the nonprofit Associates in Research and Education for Development has partnered with public schools and education authorities to expand bilingual education that integrates native languages with French from the earliest years of learning. The organization’s work contributed to the development of Senegal’s Harmonized Model of Bilingual Education, and has improved education in Senegal and beyond. Ly’s pioneering efforts highlight a simple but powerful truth: when education reflects the languages and lived experiences of children, it allows them to learn and grow with confidence. _Russell is the executive director of UNICEF_ Mamadou Amadou Ly Is on the 2026 TIME100 List ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people/2026/mamadou-amadou-ly/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people/2026/mamadou-amadou-ly/"},"headline":"Mamadou Amadou Ly","datePublished":"2026-04-15T11:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-21T07:21:49.558Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people/2026/mamadou-amadou-ly/","keywords":["TIME 100","list","franchise","Accolades"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0a20638ae8c8fa5a/69dfb49ad9327413a212c393/T100-2026-Web-Mamadou-Amadou-Ly-social.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Catherine Russell","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/catherine-russell/"}],"creator":"Catherine Russell","articleSection":"TIME100","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0a20638ae8c8fa5a/69dfb49ad9327413a212c393/T100-2026-Web-Mamadou-Amadou-Ly-social.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/time100/","name":"TIME100"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-100/","name":"TIME 100"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people/2026/mamadou-amadou-ly/","name":"Mamadou Amadou Ly"}}]}] ```