Praia, March 21, 2024 - Through the month dedicated to celebrating women, the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) organized several dedicated activities.

The month's activities included a tribute to ECREEE's female staff on March 18, 2024. As ECREEE bided farewell to Mrs. Liliane DIGUIMBAYE TORRELLA, the Acting Principal Program Officer of Admin and Finance, for her remarkable contributions to the Centre over the last 20 months. She joins the offices of the ECOWAS Commission (Resident Representation and ERCA) in Banjul, Gambia. The Centre welcomed another female Principal Program Officer of Administration and Finance, Ela GNAZALE GOORE-BI.

This effort was exemplified also through a Leadership Training Program specifically designed for its female employees, conducted from 11 to 13 March in Akuse (Ghana) with the support of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). The program was meticulously crafted for the female staff of ECREEE, ERERA and WAPP with the crucial leadership skills necessary for ascending the career ladder in the sustainable energy sector.

ECREEE is embarking on the Development of the ECREEE Gender Strategy and Action Plan 2023-2027 with the support of GIZ. This initiative is in line with ECREEE’s Strategic Plan 2023-2027, which gives pride of place to gender integration in energy. The interim results of this ongoing study were discussed as part of its finalization.

These initiatives reinforce the Centre´s pledge to championing gender equality within and beyond its confines. ECREEE is leading by example, demonstrating that the path to sustainable energy solutions is intrinsically linked to the empowerment of women. The Women and Clean Energy in West Africa Project (WOCEWA) implemented by ECREEE and supported by the International Development research Centre-Canada (IDRC) is a perfect example.