Conakry - Guinea — A weeklong celebration of ECOWAS 38th anniversary has ended in Conakry, Guinea with a fitting festival of West African culture and cuisines.

Cultural troupes of citizens of ECOWAS Member States resident in the Guinean capital put up a mosaic of performances reflecting the region's rich cultural heritage.

There were presentations from Niger featuring a narrative that captured that country's demography and peculiarities and other cultural performances that entertained delighted guests, including diplomats, government officials and ordinary citizens.

Cameroon added a non-West African flavour to the finale on 2nd June, dubbed a Night of ECOWAS Culture, which also featured a dinner from the cuisines on display.

The Special Representative of the President of the ECOWAS Commission to Guinea, Mrs. Jacqueline Zaba said the event demonstrated the cohesion among community citizens in the country, adding that this would also contribute to generating greater community consciousness in the spirit of the Region's 2020 Vision.

She commended ECOWAS ambassadors for their contributions to the success of the inaugural celebration of the anniversary in the country, which started on 27th May 2013 with the official opening of the Office of the Special Representative.

This was followed by a seminar where more than 150 participants discussed key ECOWAS programmes such as the Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons and the Community Strategic Plan with officials of the ECOWAS Commission and the National Unit, which coordinates ECOWAS programmes in the country.

There was also an Integration Caravan during the week for citizen sensitization in the capital and beyond, coupled with massive media coverage of the celebration.