GIZ And ECOWAS Train 32 Journalists On Trade Advocacy

GIZ and the ECOWAS Commission held a 4-day intensive trade advocacy training for media practitioners. The regional training which took place from the 28^th of November to the 2^nd of December 2022 in Abuja, hosted over 30 media practitioners from ECOWAS members states including the Republic of Burkina Faso, the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire, the Republic of Togo, the Republic of Niger, the Republic of Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, Gambia, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

In 1975, ECOWAS was established to foster economic and political cooperation. This they hope would ‘improve the living conditions of the citizenry, ensure economic growth, and create an environment conducive for true development and integration’ [1]. One of the instruments designed to effectively achieve these is trade. Yet, the volume of trade is extremely low largely due to certain challenges which the GIZ identifies to include ‘the lack of capacity amongst the non-state actors (including media practitioners) to advocate for constraints identified in the implementation of trade policies’[2].

Trade Advocacy Policies

It is for this reason that GIZ and ECOWAS commission, recognizing media practitioners within the region as key non-state actors, put together this regional training on the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). These trade policies are key in liberalizing trade and promoting free movement of goods within the African region and internationally.

At the end of the training, every participant was well equipped with the resources and information required to ‘create awareness amongst various stakeholders in the region or along trade corridors, to facilitate trade and enable the private sector, including women’s networks, to access increased opportunities and promote the region’s economic and social development[3].

As a brand, SoTectonic is committed to doing trade advocacy starting with a digital sensitization project in which we will be sharing information harnessed at the training for the benefit of all who were unable to attend the training.

[1] https://ecowas.int/history-2/

[2] A statement by the GIZ at the regional training for media practitioners in Abuja on the 28^th of November, 2022

[3] A statement by the GIZ at the regional training for media practitioners in Abuja on the 28^th of November, 2022

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