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The workshop for gender specialists, focal points of the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre in the 15 ECOWAS member states, opened this Monday, April 03, 2023 in Saly-Mbour, a town 80 km from Dakar in Senegal. The main objective of this activity, which runs from April 03 to 05, 2023, is to assess the role and performance of these Gender Focal Points on the one hand, but also to identify ways in which they can be strengthened to play more effectively this role of support to the implementation of CCDG programs in member states within the framework of ECOWAS Vision 2050. The workshop was officially launched by Prof. Fatou SOW SARR, ECOWAS Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs.
More specifically, the Saly workshop aims to facilitate the updating of the Gender Focal Points database and the multi-year planning of CCDG programs, projects and activities implemented in member states. It is also an opportunity to present the content of ECOGO (Ecowas Gender Observatory), an information-sharing and visibility platform funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), to better position the CCDG as an Agency of Excellence in charge of implementing the ECOWAS Gender Policy.
In addition to the member states’ Gender Focal Points, representatives of the ECOWAS Commission’s Institutions, Specialized Agencies and Directorates, Civil Society Organizations and technical partners such as UN-Women, UNDP, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Spanish Cooperation, etc., are also taking part in this workshop.
After welcoming the participants, H.E. Mr Stéphan S. SAMBOU, Director of the ECOWAS Country Office in Senegal, emphasized the importance of gender for key ECOWAS sectors such as trade, the free movement of people and goods, social and political movements, socio-economic development activities, and so on.
In her introductory speech, delivered on behalf of Madame Sandra OULATE FATTOH, Director of the CCDG, Madame Salimata THIAM, Senior Gender Programs Officer, gave a brief overview of the history behind the creation of the ECOWAS Gender Centre. She also recalled that “The main objective pursued by the CCDG in identifying Gender Focal Points is to get closer to all stakeholders in member states and to create the appropriate framework to carry out its mandate……. within the framework of the new ECOWAS VISION 2050….and to follow up on the adoption of its new Strategic Plan 2023 – 2027, the CCDG deemed it timely to reconnect with the Gender Focal Points to share the new strategies for implementing these programs”.
He was followed by representatives of technical partners, notably the Spanish Cooperation and UN Women, who delivered their speeches of solidarity. In his speech, Coordinator Javier VEGA of Spanish Cooperation in Senegal emphasized his country’s choice to align its feminist policy with Agenda 2063 and the African Union’s MDG 5 (gender equality and empowerment), before reaffirming his institution’s commitment to continuing cooperation with ECOWAS and the CCDG.
The workshop was officially launched by ECOWAS Commissioner Fatou SOW SARR, in charge of Human Development and Social Affairs, who noted in her opening remarks that ECOWAS had very early affirmed its commitment to the global agenda of promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment. “In each of our member states, we have national mechanisms for promoting gender equality, gender focal points, and women’s and youth organizations and groups committed to combating social inequalities and strengthening women’s political, economic and social leadership. The ECOWAS Department of Human Development and Social Affairs, through the CCDG, has initiated this framework for sharing and consultation in order to better capitalize on the various contributions made by all stakeholders,” added Prof. Fatou SOW SARR.
The ECOWAS Centre for Gender Development (CCDG) was created in 2003 by the ECOWAS Conference of Heads of State and Government, as a Specialized Agency of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), charged with initiating and facilitating capacity building through knowledge-based training and skills transfer, the development and management of programs for women and men in the public and private sectors, to address gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in ECOWAS integration programs.
Since its inception, the Center has developed technical and financial support programs for women, men, youth and children, including: the Excellence Scholarship Program, the Support Program for Women and Girls Suffering from Obstetric Fistula, the Support Program for Women Processors of Agricultural, Fishery and Handicraft Products, the Support Program for Civil Society Organizations Working in the Field of Gender and Development, notably REPSFECO and ROAJELF, the Support Project for the Protection of Child Victims of Rights Violations (PAPEV) in six member states, the “50 million women have their say” Project, etc.