Accra, the Capital City of the Republic of Ghana, hosted on 20th February 2026 a HIGH-LEVEL ADVOCACY event to facilitate strong political commitment to inclusive political participation of women and youth in the ECOWAS region. This high-level meeting wrapped up the Regional Consultation on Political Participation and Leadership of Women and Youth in West Africa as part of the Legacy Project, following the meetings of Ministers and Experts in charge of Gender and Women’s Affairs held from 17 to 19 February 2026 in Accra, Ghana.Given the importance of full inclusion of women and young people in the political arena and debate in its Member States in order to achieve the objectives set out in its Vision 2050, ECOWAS has decided to translate the flagship initiatives of its 50th anniversary celebrations into a”Legacy Project” \/ “Fiftieth Anniversary Commemorative Project” focusing on the political participation and leadership of women and young people. This Legacy Project aims to consolidate the Community’s achievements in democratic governance, while laying the foundations for a regional framework promoting equal opportunities for women and men in the political arena. The Legacy Project aims to adopt a model law\/guide which, if adopted by Member States, would promote reforms that will strengthen the political participation and leadership of women and young people in the region’s political arena by 2035.The high-level advocacy meeting was attended by H.E. Mrs Jane Naana OPOKU-AGYEMANG, Vice-President of the Republic of Ghana. It featured a series of speeches, including a goodwill message from the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain to Ghana, an address by the Vice-President of the ECOWAS Commission, the vote of thanks from the Ministers responsible for gender issues, delivered by the Minister for Gender of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Chair of the Council of Ministers and the closing speech by Her Excellency the Vice-President of the Republic of Ghana.In her goodwill message, the representative of the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain to Ghana stated that the Kingdom of Spain supports the efforts of all organisations and institutions to strengthen democracy and consolidate gender equality as a cornerstone of sustainable development.In her address, Vice-President Damtien L. TCHINTCHIBIDJA of the ECOWAS Commission stated that the Legacy Project Initiative aims to strengthen women’s access to political leadership, legal and electoral reforms, leadership preparation, equitable access to resources, robust monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, and sustained efforts to change socio-cultural perceptions. \u2018The ECOWAS Commission remains firmly committed to Member States to provide advisory support,
strengthen monitoring mechanisms and mobilise partnerships,\u2019 she added.
In her vote of thanks delivered on behalf of all Ministers responsible for Gender and Women’s
Affairs, H.E. Ms Isata MAHOI, Minister for Gender and Children of the Republic of Sierra Leone
and Chair of the ECOWAS Gender Ministers’ Council, mentioned that the baseline situation
regarding the political participation and leadership of women and young people in ECOWAS
Member States clearly shows the need to focus on implementing reforms to strengthen the
political participation and leadership of women and young people in the region’s political arena.
As part of the operationalisation of the Legacy Project, commitments must be made at the
country level to break down economic, social, cultural and other barriers.
The Vice-President of the Republic of Ghana, Her Excellency Jane Naana OPOKU-AGYEMANG,
declared at the closing of this Regional Consultation on Political Participation and Leadership
of Women and Youth in West Africa that the inclusion of women and youth is a priority for the
Republic of Ghana. To this end, initiatives for the political participation of women and young
people have been taken through the implementation of institutional policies and the creation of
platforms for youth engagement. The Republic of Ghana remains available to collaborate with
ECOWAS to promote the inclusion of women and young people.
The Regional Consultation is part of the Legacy Project, a flagship initiative aimed at
consolidating the Community’s achievements over the past fifty years in terms of democratic
governance, while laying the foundations for a regional framework that promotes equal
opportunities for women and men in the political sphere.
The Regional Consultation was organised with the support of the Spanish Agency for
International Development Cooperation (AECID), as part of the ALPOJEF EMPO’WOMEN project,
implemented by the West African Network of Young Women Leaders (ROAJELF).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Accra, the Capital City of the Republic of Ghana, hosted on 20th February 2026 a HIGH-LEVEL ADVOCACY event to facilitate strong political commitment to inclusive political participation of women and youth in the ECOWAS region. This high-level meeting wrapped up the Regional Consultation on Political Participation and Leadership of Women and Youth in West Africa […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":954,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-non-classe-en"],"yoast_head":"\n