NEW!>PODCAST: Episode 20 of #Ecowas@40Podcast: #MaliAttacks; #WestAfrica; #ECOWASMonetaryInstitute

In this latest edition of #ECOWAS@40Podcast, we ask some burning questions around the #MaliAttacks; and update you on what is trending on #westAfrica. We explain what the  #EcowasMonetaryInstitute is, and why it matters to Ecowas' integration.

The ECOWAS@40Podcast is an innovative knowledge product of the "Africa in Focus Show". It is produced by Executive Producer Emmanuel.K.Bensah Jr.

COMING UP!>>Ep.46: West Africa Drug Policy Network (WADPN): Countdown to 26 June – International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking

Episode #46:

Time with West Africa Drug Policy Network (WADPN): Countdown to 26 June – International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

Since 1987, the UN has used 26 June to reflect on a society free of drug abuse. West Africa has the peculiar distinction of being home to what the UN Office on Drugs & Crime considers one of the six evils of crime, which includes drug trafficking.

In this second show showcasing the advocacy of the West Africa Drug Policy Network, we will be speaking to three members of the Network who will help us count down to 26 June, and remind us of the importance of the “Support, don’t punish campaign”, which seeks to put a human face on those who take drugs.

  

Call us on the following numbers when we open the phone lines at 14h30 GMT

+233(0)289.000.931 // +233(0)289.931.000

Join us if you can at 1pm on 23 June, 2015.

Guiding questions

·         What has been the state of play of WADPN’s advocacy since last show in February?

·         What is the “Support, don’t punish campaign”, and why is it important for WADPN’s advocacy?

·         What are some of the Network’s upcoming activities?

·         Is the Ghanaian public ready to accept a society free of drug abuse?

·         How instrumental has the West Africa Commission on Drugs been to WADPN’s advocacy?

Guests in the studio:

Ø  Marie-Ane Goretti, International Drug Policy Consortium(IDPC)

Ø  Christian Lokko, REMAR Ghana

Ø  Helen Meredith, WABHARM

Assistance:

Ø  Juana Akuamoah-Boateng, Assistant Producer, “Africa in Focus” Show

Guests on the line:

Ø  Macmillan Prentice, Ghana Standards Authority who will, @ 13h30, offer us an update of ECOSTAND (West African Quality Standard)

Coming up!>>Ep.43: SPECIAL: Talking Points around #ECOWAS@40(4): One-on-one with former ECOWAS Official Frank Ofei

Episode #43:

SPECIAL: Talking Points around #ECOWAS@40(4): One-on-one with former ECOWAS Official Frank Ofei

In ep.43 of #AfricainFocusShow, we will be doing something a little different around the "Talking Points around #Ecowas@40

We will be having a one-on-one with former Ecowas official Frank Ofei on aspects of Ecowas' integration, which is timely as the 47th Ordinary Session of Ecowas is underway here in Accra.

 It is also timely because Ecowas turns 40 on 28 May!

 The difference for 19 May's edition is that, given how some of us have been studying and monitoring Ecowas for a decade-plus, & calling for it to be more accountable to the average ECOWAS Community citizen, it is important to also include a small appreciation of the theory of regional integration so listeners appreciate how powerful this Ecowas bloc is when pitted against the larger global context.

ECOWAS obviously turns 40 on 28 May, but what does ECOWAS need to quickly do over the next ten years to ensure it remains relevant and meaningful for its citizens?

We will also use the show to briefly touch on how ECOWAS sits in the grand scheme of regional integration theories, such as neo-functionalism, which sees member states of a grouping cooperating; collaborating on specific projects (such as Liberian intervention by Nigerian-led ECOMOG in 1989) to such an extent that it spills over to cooperating on other projects in the furtherance of integration.

To speak to these, and many more questions, we will be having a very important discussion with former ECOWAS official Frank Ofei.

Call us on the following numbers when we open the phone lines at 14h30 GMT

+233(0)289.000.931 // +233(0)289.931.000

Join us if you can at 1pm on 19 May, 2015.

Guiding questions

• ·        There’s a crisis brewing in Burundi. In the absence of a Peace & Security Architecture comparable to ECOWAS’ what lessons can that region learn from ECOWAS to inform how they manage the crisis?
• ·        ECOWAS’ free movement has meant that more than 70pct of the migrants have originated from the sub-region. How has ECOWAS been actively seized on the migrant crisis, given its collaboration with Spain since 2008?
• ·        How have #ECOWAS40 celebrations been so far throughout the sub-region, and what is your assessment of how other ECOWAS Day celebrations have been? How, for example, was #ECOWAS30 celebrations?
• ·        What are some of the economic integration-related issues we need to look out for from the ECOWAS Summit underway?
• ·        Is it not time for the revised 1993 ECOWAS Treaty to be revised to reflect realities; structures; and institutions of 2015?
•  

Guests in the studio:

Ø  Frank Ofei, ,former ECOWAS official, & responsible for revision of ECOWAS Treaty (1993)

Guests on the line:

Ø  Official from Forestry Commission on FORESTRY WEEK @13h20

Ø   Daniel Afriyie, IOM Mission, Ghana @ 13h30 (briefing on what IOM is doing concretely to help mitigate #migrantCrisis)

STORIFY Feature: When Dakar celebrated #ECOWAS40!