In a bid to scale up women and youth representation in ECOWAS Member States, ECOWAS Female Parliamentarians Association, ECOFEPA, is organising a two-days Regional Townhall meeting tagged stimulating regional dynamics for mentoring the next generation of decision makers, in Abuja.
The meeting which had in attendance, three hundred participants drawn from women and youth network within the ECOWAS sub-region is expected to improve the communication and support link between ECOFEPA and the participating women and youths networks, reduce skill gaps through active participation of women and youth capacity building sessions, boost self-confidence of participants, increase involvement of women and youths in politics and set the stage for the establishment of sustained engagement with political young leaders to develop a road map that will stimulate a national dynamic for mentorship of young leaders.
Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Dr. Sidie Tunis, while declaring the meeting open, said, the townhall meeting is an opportunity for constituents to have a face-to-face interaction with their representatives and table their concerns for scaling up of social inclusion for citizens.
He expressed joy that the meeting is strategically aligned with the current ECOWAS Vision 2050, which places more emphasis on women and youth development in the sub-region and would address some of the issues that have contributed to gender inequalities in the region, irrespective of the progress made by most countries regarding women’s participation in the economic and social sectors.
In her welcome speech, the President of ECOFEPA, Hon. Woraye Sarr, called on Civil Society Organizations across member states to mainstream youth activities into their project to promote women and youths’ participation in politics.
She said achieving the thirty percent affirmative action on women representation requires more efforts by all stakeholders, noting that Civil Society Organizations have greater roles to play to ensure success in the struggle.
Others who spoke including the Country Representative, UN women, Beatrice Eyong, a former governor of Abia State, and Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Orji Uzo Kalu, represented by his Chief of Staff, Emeka Nwala, Regional Chairman West Africa Youth Assembly, Emmanuel Chea, among others called for mentorship for the West African women and youths for faster development in the region.
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