Organized by the ECOWAS Youth and Sports Development Centre (EYSDC) with partners including the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) and GIABA, the event aimed to finalize a revised youth policy framework aligned with ECOWAS Vision 2050.

According to official releases, the conference integrated findings from prior youth consultations in Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Benin. Professor Fatou Sow Sarr, ECOWAS Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs, emphasized youth as “agents of change” in achieving regional peace and prosperity. Her remarks underscored ECOWAS’s commitment to centering youth in development agendas.

GIABA Director General Edwin W. Harris Jr. addressed structural challenges, linking youth involvement in crime to unemployment and education gaps. He advocated for revised curricula to enhance employability and a dual approach to drug-related issues: criminal justice for traffickers alongside mental health support for affected youth. Senegal’s Youth Minister Khady Diene Gaye reinforced that national progress “cannot occur without investing in youth.”

The conference validated a roadmap for implementing the ECOWAS Youth Policy and Strategic Action Plan. Key outcomes include expanded youth studies across member states, strengthened dialogue mechanisms between young citizens and policymakers, and institutionalized peer-learning platforms. The initiative aligns with ECOWAS’s 50th-anniversary objectives.

European Union, German development agencies, and UNFPA provided technical and financial support for the event.