Ministers and experts in charge of gender issues from ECOWAS member states meet in Accra to validate the CCDG’s 2023-2027 strategic plan.

Accra, the capital of Ghana, will host a Regional Gender Experts Workshop from March 27 to 29, 2023, followed on March 30, 2023 by a Meeting of Ministers in charge of gender issues and the advancement of women from ECOWAS member states. Organized by the ECOWAS Centre for Gender Development (CCDG), the workshop for experts and representatives of civil society organizations working on gender equality and development will aim to discuss, examine and finalize the CCDG’s draft 2023-2027 Strategic Plan, with a view to its validation by the meeting of Ministers in charge of gender issues and its adoption by other ECOWAS statutory bodies.

Placed under the theme: “Gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls: An imperative for the achievement of sustainable development and effective regional integration in West Africa”, the CCDG’s strategic plan aims to pave the way for the contributions the Centre seeks to make to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls as part of the medium- and long-term regional integration process in West Africa. Its aim is to build on the progress and achievements made over the years to contribute to sustainable development and economic and social justice in the ECOWAS region, through the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.

This strategic plan has been developed to reposition the CCDG as a center of excellence with the capacity to contribute to the transformation of West Africa into a just and secure community in which men and women have equal opportunities to participate, decide, control and benefit from all development initiatives, within the framework of ECOWAS Vision 2050, which aims to create “a fully integrated community of peoples in a peaceful and prosperous region, with strong institutions and respect for fundamental freedoms, working towards inclusive and sustainable development”. It is based on the five main pillars that underpin the priorities of ECOWAS Vision 2050. It aims to promote gender equality, the empowerment of women and girls, and the acceleration of economic and social development and regional integration.