Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast, is hosting a four-day training workshop for communication focal points from the country’s 33 regions and autonomous districts, aimed at strengthening the promotion of youth integration programs.
The workshop, which opened on Monday, August 25, 2025, focuses on participants involved in the Youth Employment and Skills Development Project (PEJEDEC) and the C2D-Emploi phase 3 initiative.
The event is chaired by Hermann Toualy, coordinator of the Employment Programs Coordination Office (BCP-Emploi), and is conducted under the supervision of the Ministry of Youth Promotion, Professional Integration and Civic Service. Its main objective is to consolidate the role of focal points as strategic relays, ensuring more dynamic, coherent, and modern communication about PEJEDEC and C2D-Emploi initiatives.
“We decided to organize this workshop to strengthen the capacities of focal points, enable them to develop communication plans and strategies, and above all improve the visibility of programs implemented within the framework of government action,” Mr. Toualy said during the opening ceremony.
André Bouah, Director of Communication and Public Relations at the Ministry, emphasised the importance of local authorities in both implementing and promoting youth programs.
“If local authorities implement these programs, who else could talk about their direct impacts if not themselves, through their communications departments? They are best placed to inform the public of the effectiveness of the actions and directly reach young people in their regions. For us, as a ministry, it is therefore essential that the territorial network be effective and inclusive,” he said.
The workshop brings together 47 participants over four days and forms part of the delegated project management agreement between BCP-Emploi and local authorities. This agreement oversees the entrepreneurship component of the C2D-Emploi and PEJEDEC projects. Both initiatives are led by the Ivorian government with financial support from the French Development Agency (AFD) and the World Bank.
The training reflects the government’s commitment to decentralisation, equipping local authorities with the skills to effectively communicate the results of youth employment programs and directly engage young people across the country.
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