Children & Youth

  • 27 Apr 2017

    Conakry becomes the World Book Capital

    Country: 
    Guinea
    Topics: 
    Culture & Society
    Education
    Children & Youth
    Body: 
    Conakry has become the “World Book Capital” for a year. The Guinean capital is the first city in francophone Africa to obtain this status, which is awarded annually by UNESCO, and is the third African city to be named after Alexandria in 2002 and Port Harcourt, Nigeria in 2014. Through the programme, Guinea will organise monthly cultural events aimed at highlighting the country’s authors and culture. Read on
  • 27 Apr 2017

    African Youth Agripreneurs Forum

    Country: 
    Nigeria
    Topics: 
    Agriculture & Fisheries
    Children & Youth
    Employment
    Gender
    Body: 
    Over 200 young people gathered at the first African Youth Agripreneurs (AYA) forum that took place in Ibadan, Nigeria from 25 to 26 April 2017. Organised by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and partners, the forum served as a platform to promote skills, creativity and innovativeness in agribusiness. It offered many opportunities for networking among young entrepreneurs and key stakeholders. Read on
  • 25 Apr 2017

    “She Decides” in Benin and Senegal

    Country: 
    Benin
    Senegal
    Topics: 
    Culture & Society
    Development co-operation
    Children & Youth
    Members: 
    Belgium
    Body: 
    The Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Development Cooperation Alexander De Croo travelled to Benin and Senegal with two Belgian celebrities working with the United Nations on issues related to the rights of women and children. Their working visit was part of the “She Decides” initiative - led by Belgium, Denmark, The Netherlands and Sweden - which focuses on improving the rights of young girls and women, especially on sexual and reproductive health. Read on
  • 13 Apr 2017

    Barriers to education for children with disabilities

    Country: 
    Benin
    Burkina Faso
    Guinea-Bissau
    Liberia
    Mali
    Niger
    Senegal
    Sierra Leone
    Togo
    Topics: 
    Culture & Society
    Education
    Children & Youth
    Body: 
    Of the millions of children who do not complete elementary school in West Africa each year, one third suffer from a disability. Their condition means they are confronted with many barriers to education. As part of its inclusive education programme, Handicap International seeks to remove the many barriers to the education of 170 000 children with disabilities in nine West African countries. Read on
  • 20 Mar 2017

    Brussels Briefing: Rural-urban links

    Topics: 
    Agriculture & Fisheries
    Economy
    Employment
    Food security & Nutrition
    Children & Youth
    Urban-rural development
    SWAC: 
    SWAC
    Body: 
    “Strengthening rural livelihoods in the face of rapid urbanisation in Africa” was the topic of a Brussels Briefing organised on 20 March by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), BMZ/GIZ and partners. Thomas Allen, from the Sahel and West Africa Club Secretariat (SWAC/OECD) participated in a panel discussion on rural transformation and job creation. His presentation argued that although the farming sector will continue to provide the most jobs, labour is increasingly moving out of farming, requiring people to develop different skills. Read on
  • 08 Mar 2017

    Gender equality in West Africa: Actions speak more than words

    Country: 
    Nigeria
    Topics: 
    Culture & Society
    Children & Youth
    Opinion: 
    Opinion
    SWAC: 
    SWAC
    Body: 
    Several decades of gender debates, special events and development goals dedicated to the empowerment of women, add up to only modest improvements on the ground. “What should count, though, is not the number of commitments we make, but the true progress we achieve on the ground […] If men were ready to help women, things would move much faster,” points out Julia Wanjiru from the Sahe land West Africa Club Secretariat (SWAC/OECD) in an article published on the OECD Insights blog. Read on
  • 08 Mar 2017

    Thomas Sankara in the “Country of Upright Women”

    Country: 
    Burkina Faso
    Topics: 
    Culture & Society
    Children & Youth
    Opinion: 
    Opinion
    Body: 
    Since 1985, 8 March has been a public holiday in Burkina Faso. Thomas Sankara had the idea to keep women from going the market on that day, and demand that men do the shopping and cooking instead. This inversion of gender roles was intended to remind men about the realities of the daily grind of their wives, mothers and sisters, and to, above all, allow men to experience those things first-hand. The president of Burkina Faso also left his mark by making himself a tireless advocate for women prostitutes. Read on
  • 08 Mar 2017

    Women’s Day in West Africa

    Country: 
    Burkina Faso
    Topics: 
    Culture & Society
    Children & Youth
    Sahara-Sahel
    SWAC: 
    SWAC
    Body: 
    As we mark International Women’s Day today with a large number of events organised across West Africa, it is a timely moment to look at progress made and remaining obstacles to achieving gender equality. The SWAC Secretariat has prepared a series of articles, documents, maps & facts. Did you know? Since 1984, 8th of March is a public holiday in Burkina Faso. Read on
  • 02 Mar 2017

    ECOWAS to promote gender equality

    Country: 
    Côte d'Ivoire
    Topics: 
    Children & Youth
    Members: 
    ECOWAS
    Body: 
    ECOWAS ministers met on 9 February 2017 in Abidjan to discuss how to make faster progress on gender equality and equity within the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the African Union’s Agenda 2063. Côte d’Ivoire’s Vice-President Daniel Duncan participated in the opening session and encouraged ministers to take ownership of the newly approved roadmap, which aims to accelerate the implementation of Supplementary Act on Equal Rights for Men and Women for Sustainable Development in the Community. Read on
  • 17 Feb 2017

    Assessment of learning outcomes in West Africa

    Topics: 
    Education
    Children & Youth
    Urban-rural development
    Body: 
    The World Bank has published the results of a learning outcomes assessment that was carried out in 2014 in ten Francophone African countries, including seven in West Africa. It reveals that, in general, there are still significant gender and social disparities when it comes to access to education in the region. Read on

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