This meeting that is being organised by the ECOWAS Commission and scheduled to hold on the 31st August , 1st and 2nd September 2010 at the Hotel NGOR DIARAMA in Dakar (Senegal), seeks "greater involvement of the research community in the formulation of ECOWAS programmes, notably the ECOWAS Community Development Programme (CDP) and Regional Research Policy".

The meeting shall bring together about sixty representatives from the universities and research centres, members of research networks and resource persons from the 15 ECOWAS Member States.

This Dakar meeting further seeks to take stock of the research situation within the Region and to inform all stakeholders in this important sector of the progress on the ECOWAS CDP formulation process and Research Policy. The meeting shall also examine ways and means for greater involvement of research stakeholders in the formulation of this ambitious ECOWAS regional programme and equally seeks to gather their inputs on the Regional Research Policy being formulated by the ECOWAS Commission.

The CDP shall be formulated based on regional experience as well as the principles of subsidiarity, collegiality, solidarity and cohesion. It is a participatory formulation process involving all stakeholders in the process, including the ECOWAS Commission, other regional institutions, Member States, regional and national organisations that are non-state actors (i.e. civil society, private sector and research sector) and development partners operating in the region.

As a matter of fact, pursuant to the implementation of Vision 2020 adopted by the Heads of State and Government in June 2007, the ECOWAS Commission was mandated to set up a CDP aimed at formulating a long-term development strategy and a coherent action plan that will translate this vision into reality, in consistency with the objective of establishing a coherent framework for ECOWAS sub-regional programmes. Accordingly, all stakeholders in the Programme (the ECOWAS Commission, other regional integration organisations, regional non-state actors such as the civil society, private sector and research sector as well as all Member States) are invited to play a vital role in the formulation of this Programme.

The CDP therefore seeks to promote innovation, research and development within the Region through strengthening and networking of research centers and dissemination of research results applicable to the West African context. The Dakar meeting shall among others focus on issues relating to the interconnection of universities, colleges and other institutions of higher education and the development of a higher education certificate equivalency system as well as the promotion of innovation, science and technology.

Furthermore, the national, regional and international press corps is invited to cover this important meeting. For further information, please contact Mr. Mamadou Khoule, Programme Officer in charge of CDP Communications at the ECOWAS Commission.