Directors of youth affairs in ECOWAS member states met recently in Porto Novo, Republic of Benin to propose how to improve the efficiency of youth capacity building programmes of the Ouagadougou-based regional centre for youth development.

The centre seeks to build the skills of youths in the region in order to empower them for self-sufficiency and boost national development.

The directors according to a statement from the commission reviewed reports of four consultants retained by the ECOWAS Youth and Sports Development Centre (EYSDC) to evaluate the value and weaknesses of its capacity building programmes between 2007 and 2011 under which youths from the region are trained in various skills at different regional centres of excellence.

Youths under the scheme, which is conducted in the regional centres of excellence in Soufouroulaye (Mali), Songhai Centre, Porto Novo (Benin) and Ziniare (Burkina Faso) are trained in building electrical wiring, agro-business, air-conditioning/refrigeration and auto mechanics.