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| Solidarity and social development in ECOWAS: Abidjan hosts the 2nd Forum of Ministers of Social Development, initiated by the MOST Programme of UNESCO |
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| The 2nd Forum of Ministers of Social Development of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) opened, this Thursday, 25 September 2008 in Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire), gathering together representatives from Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. Collectively, they will try to identify common lines of action of solidarity and social development in order to establish a "regional social agenda”. |
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 On the theme of solidarity and social development within the context of regional integration in West Africa, this meeting, which will close on Friday evening, 26 September, is organized by the Ministry of Solidarity and War Victims of Côte d'Ivoire and the UNESCO Programme for Management of Social Transformations (MOST).
It was opened by Sékou Diakitie, current Chairman of the Forum, Zola S. Skweyiya, President of the MOST Programme, Pierre Sané, Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences of UNESCO, representatives of ECOWAS and the African Union, Guillaume Kigbafori Soro, Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire and Louis André Dacoury-Tabley, Ivorian Minister for Solidarity and War Victims.
For two days, ministers of the Member States of ECOWAS will try to identify common lines of action of solidarity and social development in order to establish a "regional social agenda”. They will also exchange their experiences and seek to identify possible cooperation projects between themselves. Finally, they will discuss ways to strengthen the dialogue which is the aim of this Forum, created on UNESCO’s initiative, notably by increasing links with social scientists and actors in economic and social development.
To prepare this 2nd edition, a group of experts, composed of researchers and representatives of member countries of ECOWAS, met on 28 and 29 August in Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire).
Three papers on solidarity and social development within the context of regional integration were presented. The first dealt with "The reconstruction of capital solidarity for sustainable human development in Côte d'Ivoire in post-crisis situations", the second proposed an "Evaluation of policies and social priorities in Mali”, while the third enabled the sharing of experiences in Tunisia in public policies for solidarity and social development, to meet the needs expressed by many people.
This preparatory meeting was an opportunity to make recommendations, including: the need to define the concepts of solidarity and social development, to carry out in-depth analysis of institutional and human resources available in each country, and to evaluate research capacities so that they can better contribute to public policy-making.
At the closing of the Forum, Friday 26 September, the Ministers will adopt a Joint Declaration. They will also elect the new President of the Forum and select the country that will host the 3rd Forum of Ministers of Social Development of ECOWAS.
Contact
Cecilie Golden, c.golden@unesco.org
Photo: A street scene in Bouake, a town in the north of Côte d'Ivoire © UN/E. Debebe
Related Links
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| Author(s) |
UNESCO |
| Publication Date |
25-09-2008 |
| Source |
UNESCO |
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