The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is convening a Youth-voices-for-change summit to unleash potentials of the region’s young minds for growth; the enhancement of security, and stability as well as self-development.
The two-day event which begins on the 5th of June, 2024 in Accra, Ghana, represents a clarion call for the youth in the region to awaken to the possibilities of self- realization and empowerment while becoming agents of peace in the overall socio-economic development of the region.
Apart from pushing the youth to become pivots of global change and innovation, the summit aims to amplify young people’s voices for a more inclusive political decision-making as well as in en-gendering peace processes that can encourage harmonious coexistence by communities across states.
The carefully planned brainstorming and mentoring sessions are also meant to leverage the potentials of the youth and provide opportunities for the promotion of dialogue and collaboration between the youth, governments, and industry leaders on harnessing digital technology to resolve issues in the transitional processes such as currently the case in Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea.
The summit is also expected to foster youth-led digital innovations that address known regional challenges of unemployment, irregular migration, insecurity, educational gaps, healthcare ills, poverty, criminality, poor governance, mis/disinformation, and insecurity, violent extremism, etc.
Among others, a network of young innovators, mentors, investors, and policymakers (who are committed to the promoting of digital innovation), including National Action Plans for regional growth and stability, is expected to emerge from the processes of engagement with the youth.
The theme of the 2024 summit-Youth Digital Innovation for Inclusivity, Regional Growth and Stability, is also in sync with the fourth pillar of the ECOWAS Vision 2050 seeking to achieve “Transformation, Inclusive and Sustainable Development.”
The summit is holding in collaboration with ECOWAS’ partners including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) with the framework of the Strengthening Regional Peace and Stability Program (SRPS), West African Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), and The Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA). Participants are drawn from youth organizations and entrepreneurs across the region, civil society, Information and Technology experts, representatives from global and continental organizations as well as the private sector and the media.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was established when the ECOWAS Treaty was signed by 15 West African Heads of State and Government on the 28th of May 1975 in Lagos, Nigeria. The ECOWAS region spans an area of 5.2 million square kilometres.
The Member States are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Togo.
Considered one of the pillars of the African Economic Community, ECOWAS was set up to promote co-operation and integration, leading to the establishment of an economic union in West Africa to raise the living standards of its peoples, and to maintain and enhance economic stability, foster relations-among Member States and contribute to the progress and development of the African continent.
In 2007, ECOWAS Secretariat was transformed into a Commission. The Commission is headed by the President, assisted by a Vice President, and Five Commissioners, comprising experienced bureaucrats who are providing the leadership in this new orientation.
As part of this renewal process, ECOWAS is implementing critical and strategic programs that will deepen cohesion and progressively eliminate identified barriers to full integration. In this way, the estimated 300 million citizens of the community can ultimately take ownership for the realization of the new vision of moving from an ECOWAS of States to an “ECOWAS of the People: Peace and Prosperity to All” by 2050.
