The ECOWAS Youth and Sports Development Center, in collaboration with the National Agency for Employment Promotion of Benin, will organize the 6th annual forum of national volunteer agencies in West Africa. The event is scheduled to take place in Cotonou, Benin from May 27-29, 2024. The primary objective of this gathering is to foster discussions and advocate for innovation in volunteering across the ECOWAS Region under the theme “Innovating for Impact: Transforming Volunteering through Innovation.”
This forum aligns with ECOWAS's aim to create direct exchange spaces between national and international volunteer agencies and actors, alongside the ECOWAS Youth and Sports Development Center. This initiative seeks to promote youth engagement and volunteering within West Africa through a holistic and inclusive approach that facilitates dialogue and strengthens institutional partnerships among key stakeholders.
Participants from the 15 ECOWAS Member States, along with institutional partners, will have an opportunity at the Cotonou forum to address the selected theme. Additionally, they will assess the implementation status of resolutions from the previous forum and publish the 2021 Good Practices’ Guide on volunteerism’s contribution to epidemic responses. The event will feature technical meetings and panel discussions, with expected participation from France Volunteers, UN Volunteers, CONFEJES, AU representatives, as well as non-governmental organizations that were part of the 5th Forum.
The official opening ceremony will include speeches by the Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs of the ECOWAS Commission. Opening remarks will be delivered by His Excellency Modeste Kerekou, Beninese Minister of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Employment Promotion. The meeting aims to facilitate brainstorming sessions, establish databases for volunteer networking, and gather contributions for selecting next year’s forum theme.
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