ECOWAS Ministers Of Social Development Meet In Ghana

By TheNigerianVoice-TNV

 

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Accra, December 13, 2013 - Social development actors and policy makers from the West African sub-region are expected in Accra for a 2-day forum to discuss issues concerning challenges and impact of environmental change on social inclusion and vulnerability.

Participants will discuss, share knowledge and experiences, and formulate policy recommendations on how to improve linkage between research and policy on the subject.

The Forum of Ministers of Social Development for the ECOWAS countries, is being organized by the Government of Ghana, in co-operation with UNESCO, as part of a series of Fora of Ministers of Social Development under the auspices of UNESCO's Management of Social Transformations (MOST) Programme.

The overall purpose of the MOST Fora globally, is to facilitate policy design and implementation, on the basis of rigorous social science knowledge, by creating an innovative space for policy-oriented dialogue involving experts as well as high-level decision-makers.

The Accra Forum will take place on December 16 and 17, 2013 at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel.

Global environmental change such as climate change, biodiversity loss and freshwater scarcity are directly linked to social inclusion and social transformation.Whether or not people have access to resources that could strengthen their resistance and decrease their vulnerability to such environmental change, in turn depends greatly on social, political and economic conditions and institutions at the local, regional and global levels.

An enabling institutional environment that empowers people and allows them to gain access to the resources they need for their well-being and the resilience of their livelihoods is therefore critical for adaptation.

By relating processes of these environmental change in West African societies to patterns of social inclusion and exclusion that they reflect and transform, the Forum will contribute to the knowledge base and action potential for socially inclusive environmental adaptation policies, which constitute a recognized development priority for the ECOWAS Member States.

This gathering comes at a time when Ghana is redefining its policy direction towards the vulnerable in society through the restructuring of the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs into the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection.

Representatives of national governments the ECOWAS Commission, UN entities, other intergovernmental organisations, regional research institutions and social sciences networks in Africa would take part in the Forum.

The outcome of the 2-day forum will feed into other major policy processes at the regional and international levels, including sessions of the MOST Intergovernmental Council and the Commission for Social Development of the UN General Assembly.

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