Liberia: UN Women Hold Regional Working Group Conference

21 September 2022

Monrovia, 20 Sept. 2022 - The 2022 Annual Meeting of the Regional Working Group on Women, Youth, Peace, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel (WGWYPS-WAS) got underway in Monrovia on Monday, 19th September with an array of governments, United Nations, and Civil Society Organizations in attendance.

Led by conference organizers and trainers, fifty-seven (57) Working Group members representing various West African countries are participating actively in the five-day sessions of the workshop. The meeting is also being followed online for those who were unable to attend in person.

Speaking during the opening ceremony, the Deputy Minister of Gender, Children & Social Protection, Parleh Harris said that "women have been the backbone of peace in Liberia, without them, there won't be peace and stability". She applauded UNOWAS, UN WOMEN and partners for building the capacity of women and youth, grassroots activists with key skills to raise funds for critical peacebuilding projects.

UNFPA Liberia Deputy Country Representative, Mr. Leonard Kamugisha officially opened the training by emphasizing the importance of the Women, Youth, Peace, and Security agenda and commended the Working Group on its efforts to build internal capacities through this training program.

"The objectives of the training focus on Project Writing Techniques and Resource Mobilization, identifying key tools for project designing and understanding of the methods and strategies for winning projects," says Ms. Mane Ahmed Gender Affairs Officer at UNOWAS. Ms. Mane indicated that participants are upbeat about the training as contained in the expectations they had shared prior to the commencement of the workshop.

The first day was divided into nine sessions addressing different aspects of project building expectations and outcomes, reviewing of agenda, and setting the context for writing techniques. Others included the sharing of experiences in proposal writing and resource mobilization by participants as well as project planning and design, concept note writing, and proposal development techniques. The first day's deliberations ended with presentations on the tools and exercises to develop a competitive project, restitution in the plenary, and ensuring an understanding of the methods and strategies for winning projects, among other topics.

During the highly interactive training, participants shared their project-building experiences and the constraints they faced in each of their respective countries.

Meanwhile, conference delegates will, on 22 September, participate in the celebration of the International Day of Peace event at the Monrovia City Hall under the theme: "International Day of Living Together in Peace." This occasion will bring together officials of the Government of Liberia, the United Nations System in Liberia, UN Office in West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), and civil society organizations.

The 2022 Annual Meeting of the Working Group on Women, Youth, Peace, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel (WGWYPS-WAS) ends on Friday 23rd September with a closing ceremony chaired by the Minister of Gender, Children & Social Protection.

Co-coordinated by UNOWAS and UN WOMEN, since 2009, the Working Group on Women, Youth, Peace, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel (WGWYPS-WAS) is an inclusive platform for experience sharing, analysis, and participatory evaluation of initiatives and efforts in the West African and Sahel region for the promotion and implementation of United Nations Security Council resolutions 1325 (2000), 2250 (2015) and subsequent resolutions on the involvement of women and youth in conflict prevention and peacebuilding mechanisms.

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