The ECOWAS Commission organised a symposium on 5 August 2019 to brainstorm on how to achieve greater participation and representation of women, youth, and disadvantaged citizens in politics and electoral processes. Young people below the age of 25 make up more than two-thirds of the region’s population. Despite many efforts, women and the youth remain both largely underrepresented in politics. Read on

Where do rural youth live and how do they engage with the economy? How can young rural women be empowered? How can rural youth prosper in changing agrifood systems? What makes climate change a youth issue? The IFAD Rural Development Report 2019 analyses key challenges of the rural transformation process and opportunities available to rural youth while encouraging thinking differently about investing in rural youth. Read on

This report produced by GSMA, a group of 750 operators with nearly 400 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, offers a wealth of information on mobile operator data, analysis and forecasts about West Africa. The number of unique subscribers in the region will reach 248 million (54%) by 2025. 3G will overtake 2G in 2019 to become the leading mobile technology in West Africa. Smartphone connections accounted for 38% of total connections in 2018; this number will rise to nearly 70% by 2025. Read on

Some 150 West African bishops, archbishops and cardinals currently gathered for a week at the 3rd General Assembly of the Regional Episcopal Conference of West Africa in Ouagadougou. Burkina Faso’s President Christian Roch Kaboré spoke at the opening ceremony on 13 May and called upon all citizens to stay united regardless of religion or ethnicity. “Terrorists have reorganised their operation methods, seeking first to create inter-communal conflict, and now an inter-religious conflict. Christians have been killed for practicing their religion by people who have no morals or ethics,” deplored the President Kaboré. Read on