ECOWAS experts are harmonising regional policies on youth, sport and volunteering through working groups
As part of the regional workshop on the consolidation, validation and adoption of regional policies on Youth, Sport and Volunteering, experts from ECOWAS Member States continued their work in Dakar through technical group sessions dedicated to an in-depth review of the draft policies and their strategic action plans.
Divided into four working groups organised according to the Community’s official languages, the participants carried out a detailed analysis of the documents to ensure their consistency, relevance and alignment with national priorities and the ambitions of ECOWAS Vision 2050.
During the discussions, the experts put forward observations and recommendations focusing in particular on strengthening sectoral governance, improving regional coordination mechanisms, promoting the inclusion of young people, women and people with disabilities, the development of sport as a lever for regional integration, and the strengthening of volunteering as a tool for citizenship, peace and development.
The discussions also helped to consolidate the strategic action plans by identifying measurable objectives, appropriate monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, and ways of mobilising the resources necessary for their implementation.
Following the group discussions, the rapporteurs presented the main conclusions in plenary session. The proposals put forward were the subject of constructive exchanges between the delegations before being incorporated into the consolidated versions of the documents.
This participatory approach enabled a consensus to be reached on the strategic directions that will guide ECOWAS’s actions in support of youth, sport and volunteering over the next decade. The consolidated documents will be submitted for review and approval by the ministers responsible for youth and sport in the Member States.
Through this consultation process, ECOWAS reaffirms its commitment to equipping the region with modern, inclusive policies tailored to current challenges, with a view to strengthening regional integration, promoting young people’s civic engagement, and making sport and volunteering genuine drivers of sustainable development and social cohesion in West Africa.