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African Youth - on 16-17 June, Dr 'Funmi Olonisakin and Dr Olawale Ismail attended a workshop entitled “African Youth: From Marginalisation to citizenship?” organised by the International Development Centre (IDC), Open University. Dr Olonisakin and Dr Ismail made a joint presentation entitled “Marginality as a Resource: Gender Dimensions of Youth’s Transformation of Vulnerability in West Africa”. The papers presented at the workshop will be reproduced in a special issue of Development and Change, and in a book compilation to be edited by Dr Alcinda Honwana, IDC Director.
Africa for Peace Programme Review - during the first half of June, Dr Abiodun Alao was part of a team that undertook an appraisal of this Danish-funded programme and made recommendations for the second phase. The review covered the activities of the African Union, ECOWAS, IGAD, the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), EASBRICOM and the Institute for Security Studies (ISS). The team visited Abuja, Accra, Addis Ababa, Djibouti and Nairobi.
Militancy and Violence in West Africa - a conference on this theme took place at King's College London on 23-24 April. The meeting, which was co-sponsored by the Swedish Defence College, CSDG and the International Peace and Security Group, examined issues around political radicalisation and violence in the sub-region. CSDG members Dr 'Funmi Olonisakin, Dr Abiodun Alao and Dr Wale Ismail presented papers.
New Congo ‘External Accountability’ programme – On 23 April the UK-supported Security Sector Accountability and Police Reform programme was officially launched in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. CSDG Senior Research Fellow Dylan Hendrickson is part of the core team that will design the programme in partnership with a number of Congolese and international partners over the coming four months.
YOVEX launch – Two teams from CSDG visited Anglophone and Francophone West Africa during the 1-15 April to launch the key findings from the study on Youth Vulnerability and Exclusion. The launch events in each of the seven countries (Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Sierra Leone) were well attended by representatives of governments, civil society and the research communities.
DFID Security and Justice meeting – CSDG Director Dr ‘Funmi Olonisakin and Eka Ikpe, Research Associate, participated in a meeting convened by DfID on March 18 to discuss themes around security and justice which will be developed in the Department's new White Paper on Tackling Global Poverty. Dr Olonisakin presented a 'Blue Sky' think piece on the future of security and justice for the poor which opened the debate and offered a number of key ideas on how DfID security and justice programming can make a bigger difference in the lives of the poor.
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