The SymDaf aims to create an African research group on symbolic dynamics, a branch of dynamical systems. It builds on the ties between researchers working in Algeria, Burkina Faso, and Tunisia that exist since the "Rencontre Algéro-Tunisienne de Dynamique Symbolique" (RATDS22), which took place in June 2022 at the University of Bejaia (Algeria). It is a joint effort of three small research groups in these three countries that may be joined by other groups and by isolated African researchers.

The three groups forming the kernel of SymDAf work on related research themes in symbolic dynamics such as combinatorics of words and ergodic and topological properties of endomorphisms of the shift operator. Each of the groups faces the common African difficulties such as scientific and geographic isolation, little access to travel funding, and heavy administrative and teaching duties. 

The SymDaf is an initative of Rezki Chemlal from the National Higher School of Mathematics NHSM Algiers, Algeria, Idrissa Kaboré from Nazi Boni University Burkina Faso and Tarek Sellami from Sfax University Tunisia.