ABUJA, Nigeria, February 11, 2025/APO Group/ --

The West African region faces many challenges related to security, cross-border conflicts, political crisis and economic insecurity. In this context, the active involvement of the civil society, particularly young people, is crucial to the implementation of integration and peace promotion policies.

To this end, the ECOWAS Club of the Gaston Berger University in Saint-Louis, Senegal, organised a meeting from 7 to 8 February 2025, with the aim of raising awareness, mobilising and engaging young people as well as local and institutional players around the issues of regional integration, cooperation and peace in West Africa. The meeting in Saint Louis was attended by H.E. Mrs Zelma FASSINOU, ECOWAS Resident Representative in Senegal.

The “48 Hours” of the ECOWAS Club served as a platform for exchange and reflection on how young people can contribute to building a united, peaceful and prosperous West Africa, as well as raising the profile of ECOWAS, promoting its mission and raising participants’ awareness of its activities  to prevent and manage conflicts in the sub-region.

Discussions focused on using diplomacy to promote African integration and peace, as well as, on the mobility and integration of young people in the ECOWAS region.

Eminent specialists led the various panels, including Ambassador Saliou CISSE, General Jean Luc DIENNE, Professor Alioune SALL, former judge at the ECOWAS Court of Justice, and Professor Moussa DIOP.

At the end of the two-day meeting, participants had a better understanding of the mission of ECOWAS and its role in promoting regional security. Cultural diversity was showcased through exhibitions and performances, providing an opportunity to discover and appreciate the cultural wealth of ECOWAS countries.

Concrete recommendations were made to strengthen cooperation within the Universities and higher institution within   the region through student exchanges and the inclusion of ECOWAS Clubs in the decision-making and political integration processes at community level.