THEMATIC GROUPS

WHAT IS A THEMATIC GROUP ?

WACSOF AS THE UMBRELLA NETWORK OF CSOs IN WEST AFRICA IS COMPOSED OF DIFFERENT THEMATIC GROUPS SPECIALIZED IN THEIR RESPECTIVE TECHNICAL FIELDS

THESE THEMATIC GROUPS ARE COMPOSED OF CSOs AND EXISTING COALITIONS THAT ARE WORKING IN A SIMILAR TECHNICAL DOMAIN OF COMPETENCY. FOR EXAMPLE, THE CHILD THEMATIC GROUP IS A COALITION OF CSOs AND EXISTING COALITIONS WORKING FOR CHILD RIGHTS

THE THEMATIC GROUPS COVER THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS OF ECOWAS AND AFRICAN UNION

AGRICULTURE & FOOD SECURITY

Focus on improving the interface of CSOs with the relevant authorities and institutions on securing key policy commitments towards addressing agriculture development and food security issues in West Africa

HEALTH

In this area, the goal of the West African Civil Society Forum (WACSOF) is to enhance the role of civil society in the regional agenda aimed at improving health standards across the West African Region

PEACE AND SECURITY

Seek to galvanize the civil society by deepening the practical involvement of CSOs in ensuring peace and stability in West Africa. Engage with ECOWAS in policies, research for peace and security. Coordinate CSO’s involved in peace and security for peace building network.

WOMEN AND GENDER

Engage ECOWAS and institutions on gender related issues in ECOWAS, authorities and national policies. Promote and Develop the capacity of CSO’s working around the themes of Women and Gender towards addressing human resource development gaps across the region.

HUMAN TRAFFICKING

WACSOF as an umbrella network of CSOs in West Africa has a role of ensuring that CSOs in the region engage in a broad variety of activities from lobbying and advocating on the issue of human trafficking and even providing direct support to the victims in order to achieve a safe and Human Trafficking free region

ANTI-CORRUPTION

Corruption has a disproportionate impact on the poor and most vulnerable, increasing costs and reducing access to services, including health, education and justice. The role of WACSOF is to ensure that civil societies in West Africa understand their role in holding government officials accountable and are equipped to be strongly involved in pressuring the State to take necessary actions against corruption so as to achieve a corrupt free working West Africa economy.

NATURAL RESOURCES & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Enhance the role of civil society in promoting awareness on best practices related to energy, infrastructures, to natural resources exploitation and economic development. Engage ECOWAS, authorities and institutions in harmonizing natural resource practices in the region. Involve the civil Society in the value chain of wealth creation and distribution. Create condition of economical empowerment of the civil society.

TRADE AND INVESTMENT

Ensure that the role of civil society in the facilitation of a favorable business environment in the ECOWAS region is promoted so as to secure a viable investment and trading climate across the region for development

ENTREPRENEURSHIP - YOUTH EMPLOYMENTTION

Secure the commitment of governments and relevant regional stakeholders on the promotion of entrepreneurship, youth development and employment generation programs and policies. Engage ECOWAS, institutions and governments to creation conditions and policies for effective environment of entrepreneurship development as corner stone of employment and economic development solution. Promote start ups, innovation and sustainable business creation and development in the region.

ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE

The focus here is on augmenting the contributions of regional and national authorities towards addressing famine and drought and other associated effects of environmental degradation and Climate Change.

POLITICAL AFFAIRS - DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE

Focus on achieving the goal of promoting and implementing better understanding of international standards on democracy and good governance in West Africa at all level including, public space, governments, civil society and actively involve civil society in actualizing them.

HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTS

Very huge role in the promotion of global human rights standards in West Africa, making it a priority issue in the region.

CHILD RIGTHS

The role of WACSOF is to ensure that CSOs in the West African Region engage in practices that promote the rights of children stipulated by the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. Similarly, WACSOF encourages CSOs to advocate for enactment and implementation of policies that would further promote the rights and welfare of the West African child.

MEDIA

WACSOF has a role of encouraging and engaging the media to play an important role of storytelling and acting as an information dispenser by ensuring that rules and laws that act as a means of shutting down the freedom of speech and information of media teams, houses and CSOS in the region are peacefully protested and new policies that protect and promote the civic space of the media

HUMANITARIAN AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS

On humanitarian and social affairs, the focus of WACSOF is on civil society interface with ECOWAS, national authorities and institutions in facilitating the prevention of, and timely response to, Humanitarian issues in West Africa

EDUCATION

WACSOF acting as umbrella for CSOS in West Africa is Focused on achieving and encouraging CSOs in the region to be involved in advocacy, policy dialogues and other activities that will achieve the goal of an inclusive and equitable quality education and the promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for everybody in the West African Region

ICT & INFRASTRUCTURES

WACSOF has a goal of encouraging and promoting the understanding of CSOs across West Africa on ICT related topics. WACSOF ensures that the Region is a part of the new technologically inclined world, thereby promoting and witnessing significant growth in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) across West Africa, through this the latest advanced technologies can be used to capture, analyze, and share information needed to promote a developed region and to boost the overall economic prosperity of West African states

MIGRATION AND FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT

Focus to facilitate a common understanding of the existing regional standards on migration and free movement among the relevant regional stakeholders and CSOs