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Press release: National Youth Conference: Engaging ECOWAS to develop a new vision for young people

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is organising the National Youth Forum in Dakar on 26 and 27 November 2024, under the theme: ‘Engaging ECOWAS for a new vision on youth’. This major event, chaired by the Senegalese Minister for Youth, Sport and Culture, Ms Khady Diène Gaye, alongside Prof. Fatou Sow Sarr, ECOWAS Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs, aims to strengthen inclusive dialogue, define strategic priorities and place young people at the heart of regional policies, with a view to an inclusive, dynamic and sustainable future. This conference brings together young leaders, representatives of youth organisations, policy-makers and experts to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing young people in the region, particularly in the areas of employment, entrepreneurship, education and vocational training. It marks a decisive step for ECOWAS, which aims to promote a new vision for young people, centred on regional integration, solidarity and innovation. The national youth forums in Dakar follow on from those held in Cotonou, Accra and, shortly, Abidjan, and serve as a prelude to the wider momentum building towards a regional conference scheduled to take place in Dakar, Senegal, in the first quarter of 2025. These four national forums form part of a pilot phase of a regional consultation programme initiated by ECOWAS and organised by the Community’s Centre for Youth and Sports Development, under the technical and methodological coordination of the Senegalese think tank Initiative Prospective Agricole et Rurale (IPAR), to explore innovative ways, together with young people, to increase their involvement in decision-making processes. The outcomes of the national forums in this pilot phase will be examined at the Regional Conference with a view to redefining regional youth policy and laying the foundations for concrete actions to implement it.