Fanta Ly

Fanta Ly is a third-year law student and Co-President of the McGill Black Law Students’ Association. She holds an MSc. from the London School of Economics (LSE), specializing in African economic development, a Certificate in Social Sciences and Humanities from Sciences Po Paris, and an Honours Bachelor in Political science from the University of Ottawa. Her familial roots hailing from the Futa Tooro (Sénégal) to the Futa Djallon (Guinea), paired with her multicultural upbringing, have nurtured her interest in education law and reform, African diasporic initiatives, and the praxis of Black solidarity and economic empowerment.

She is passionate about African affairs and has participated in various projects and initiatives. Namely, she: attended the Model African Union Simulation in Reims France, the School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS) African Development Forum, the LSE Africa Summit, and the Oxford Africa Business Forum. Fanta also worked as a Junior Policy Analyst in the Pan-African Affairs Division at Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and as a compliance officer at the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED). Fanta is an avid writer and researcher. She conducted a research project on the Commission of Enquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. At LSE, she worked as a research assistant on presumptive taxation schemes of African Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), and at McGill, she is currently a research assistant in the areas of international labour law, employment, and human rights. Fanta is excited to join the Council at a time when the African Continental Free Trade Agreement(AfCFTA) is poised to (re)shape labor markets and facilitate domestic resource mobilization opportunities on the continent.