Mappings in the projects of cooperation for development in Africa: some tools for studying the social and cultural aspects of territory The essay shows mappings as tools for socio-territorial analysis within the projects of cooperation for development in Africa. Starting from the research, based on field works and done by the geographers of the Diathesis Lab of the University of Bergamo in Africa, it shows a method applying mappings in four steps: knowledge mappings for collecting data on social and cultural aspects of space; planning mappings for creating indexes supporting the action; collaborative mappings for the implication of local actors; capitalization mappings for the dissemination of results, showing specific competences on the analysis of territory. Finally it illustrates a model of the latter in order to show how these technologies may valorize and disseminate the operational results of field researches, enlightening the competences of Italian geographers in the analysis of territory in Africa. Keywords: Mapping technologies, Africa, local knowledges.