The ECOWAS Gender Development Centre (EGDC) is organizing a regional workshop in Praia, Cabo Verde, from September 22 to 25, 2025. The focus of the event is the Gender Equality Seal for Public Institutions (GES-PI), an initiative aimed at promoting gender equality within ECOWAS institutions.
This workshop marks a significant phase in the implementation of GES-PI. The initiative was first launched in September 2024 in Accra, Ghana, through collaboration between EGDC, GIZ, and UNDP.
Participants will include members of the ECOWAS Gender Equality Committee (GEC), experts, partners, as well as staff from EGDC and GIABA. The agenda covers three main objectives: preparing committee members and focal points to conduct self-assessments on gender gaps using the Seal’s standards; enhancing skills to develop and implement action plans for GES-PI deployment; and discussing a model for implementing GES-PI that aligns with ECOWAS’s institutional and regional context.
Organizers state that the workshop aims to “enable the adoption of a regional Seal model, the identification of pilot institutions, and the redefinition of the roadmap and technical support strategy for its implementation in West Africa.”