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THE ECOWAS CENTRE FOR GENDER DEVELOPMENT (CCDG) AND THE FOLKE BERNADOTTE ACADEMY CO-ORGANISED A TRAINING WORKSHOP TO BUILD THE CAPACITIES OF ECOWAS PERMANENT AND RESIDENT REPRESENTATIVES ON GENDER-SENSITIVE LEADERSHIP
The ECOWAS Centre for Gender Development (CCDG) and the Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA) are co-organising a training workshop on Gender-Sensitive Leadership from 16 to 18 April 2026 in Saly, Republic of Senegal. The aim of this training is to strengthen ECOWAS’s role as a forward-looking, effective and progressive organisation by supporting its strategic leadership in order to consolidate its management capacities and promote concrete, cross-cutting progress on gender equality.
This training workshop forms part of the partnership between the CCDG and the FBA, which aims to further stimulate reflection and initiatives by both institutions on gender-sensitive processes and approaches within regional peace and security efforts.
Designed specifically for senior leaders of peace and security organisations, this training offers a unique opportunity to strengthen their leadership skills by taking concrete steps towards gender equality. It should be noted that this programme has already been successfully implemented with senior leaders of international organisations such as the United Nations and the European Union.
Permanent and Resident Representatives from ECOWAS institutions and member states took part in this training. Also present at the training were the Secretary-General, the Director of Legal Affairs and staff from Dakar Pooling Services (GIABA/CCDG).
In her welcome address, Ms Sandra OULATÉ FATTOH, Director of the CCDG, highlighted the regional context marked by an alarming decline in the fundamental rights of women and girls, which jeopardises the essential gains made in their rights. Thus, the responsibility and capacity for influence of the participants in the training workshop are crucial to establishing a proactive organisational culture that promotes gender equality across all ECOWAS structures.
She therefore emphasised that this training workshop is “a unique opportunity to acquire and apply the essential skills needed to promote gender equality and the rights of women and girls in the ECOWAS region”.
The Director of the CCDG, speaking on behalf of Prof. Fatou SOW SARR, Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs at the ECOWAS Commission, emphasised that women’s leadership in West Africa is at a critical juncture, marked by persistent challenges and emerging opportunities. Accordingly, ECOWAS, recognising the role of women’s leadership as a strategic lever for governance, innovation and development, has taken steps to ensure that women can contribute to the consolidation of peace and sustainable development at the regional level. It called on participants to commit to prioritising gender-sensitive leadership through training and coaching in order to effectively promote gender equality in the ECOWAS region.
Her Excellency Ms Catharina CAPPELIN, Swedish Ambassador to Senegal, commended the commitment of the participants who are giving priority attention to gender issues by taking part in this workshop. This reflects their deep conviction and their clear ambition to take full account of issues related to gender equality. The aim of the training workshop is not for participants to become experts in the field, but for them to use their position, authority and leadership skills to initiate and support organisational change in order to promote gender equality in their daily work. Finally, she emphasised that the dialogue between FBA and the CCDG creates a platform for shared commitment and recognition of the importance of regional and multilateral cooperation in support of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in the ECOWAS region.
This training workshop provided participants with the opportunity to acquire and apply the five essential competencies of the Gender-Sensitive Leadership Framework to promote gender equality and the rights of women and girls.
As a reminder, the CCDG and FBA formalised their partnership in December 2025 with the aim of strengthening the peace and security architecture in West Africa. This partnership provides the CCDG and FBA with a framework that fosters mutual learning and the exchange of experiences regarding their different institutional approaches to promoting gender equality and peacebuilding in the region.