Over 60 delegates from the Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS) Member Countries on Wednesday 25 th June 2025
started a 2-day ECOWAS Volunteers Forum at the Lagoonda
Entertainment Complex, Aberdeen in Freetown.
This is the 7 th Edition of the Annual Forum of National Volunteering
Agencies in the ECOWAS Region. The theme for this year’s forum is
‘ECOWAS at 50: Scaling Volunteerism for Greater Regional Impact and
Unity.”
The theme reminds Member Countries that volunteerism must move to
the center stage for the regional development agenda as the forum
provides a vital platform to take stock of where they are, share best
practices, examine challenges and collectively chart the way forward.
Officially opening the forum, the Minister of Youth Affairs, Mr. Ibrahim
Sannoh enlightened that ECOWAS must strive to provide the necessary
support to ensure the successful tenure, including through the
deployment of ECOWAS volunteers, in the implementation of the pillars
of government’s Medium-Term National Development Plan and
commended volunteer agencies, partners and civil society actors, for
their continued efforts to bring life to ECOWAS’s shared vision.
The Minister also saluted volunteers, past and present, for their
courage, passion and unwavering commitment to regional integration
revealing that as ECOWAS celebrates its 50 th anniversary this year, it
must be noted that no achievement has ever been made without
people willing to serve, listen and act.
He went on to underline that the forum must serve as the launching
pad for real action that places volunteerism at the right place, at the
heart of Africa’s transformation.
Currently, there are 21 ECOWAS volunteers in Sierra Leone working in
various areas like education, health, agriculture, peacebuilding, youth
development and climate action. These volunteers have stood at the
heart of the collective efforts of ECOWAS to build bridges across
borders, strengthen local capacities and ignite hope in communities.
This spirit led to the bold initiative of the creation of the ECOWAS
Volunteers Program in 2004 and its subsequent launch in Monrovia,
Liberia in 2010 to mobilize the region’s greatest resources.
Now, over 230 professionals have been deployed as volunteers in close
to 600 missions across Member States and institutions of ECOWAS
offering their expertise in various disciplines.
Volunteerism has quietly and powerfully advanced the vision of
regional integration where the people of West Africa can thrive in unity and dignity.
Earlier in his welcome statement, the Deputy Development Secretary,
Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, Mr. Osman Conteh
asserted that the volunteers are professionals in various disciplines
offering their expertise, that the forum provides the platform to
critique, highlight challenges and proffer solutions adding that the
scheme would venture into new areas such as climate change and
public health.
He also called for the domestication of volunteerism to promote the
South-South Cooperation, noted that the scheme is a shining example
of a robust regional policy framework that empowers youths, the
change makers of today underlining that the scheme would equip
youths with skills for the future.
Mr. Conteh went on to state that ECOWAS must provide for Sierra
Leone’s Medium Term National Development Plan as well as share the
vision of volunteerism to make the difference.
Highlights of the well-attended event were the official opening of the
forum, screening of the documentary on ECOWAS Volunteerism and
cultural performance by the Sierra Leone National Dance Troop.
