Monrovia – Better Future Foundation (BFF), in collaboration with the inter-state women group called Women Beyond Borders (WBB), is set for an honoring program for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), European Union (EU), and the Government of Liberia (GOL), for their collaboration and achievements in the implementation of the regional integration process within ECOWAS and its socio-economic and political impacts on inter-state women traders in Liberia.
In a BFF press release, the ceremony, which will be held on Monday, March 16, in Jacob Town, Monrovia, ECOWAS is expected to be represented by the Special Representative of the President of ECOWAS Commission Ambassador Babatunde Ajisomo; the European Union (EU) by the Head of EU Delegation to Liberia Helene Cave, and the Government of Liberia by President George Manneh Weah.
According to the release, the ceremony is the outcome of a project awarded to BFF 10 years ago sourced from an open call for proposals for non-state actors’ participation in the regional integration process in West Africa.
The project was funded by the European Union under the 9th European Development Fund for African, Caribbean & Pacific (ACP) countries through the ECOWAS Commission as the Contracting Authority.
BFF’s project “Awareness Among Inter-state Women Traders and Law Enforcement State Agents in Liberia” addressed theme: Achieving Regional Customs Union and Common Market within ECOWAS and a total of 597 inter-state women traders and 272 state security agents successfully participated in the project in 11 of Liberia’s 15 counties.
According to the release issued by BFF Secretariat, during the planned honoring ceremony, accolades would be bestowed on the representatives of ECOWAS, EU and GOL and participants are set to showcase highlights from the project, including its success stories by a few inter-state women traders.
BFF will also highlight the need for a comprehensive survey bordering on the livelihoods of the inter-state women traders whose constituency forms the bedrock economic base for Liberia and the ECOWAS Community consistent with the feminine agenda under the United Nations (UN) Resolution 1325.
Better Future Foundation (BFF), a non-state actor and an advocate of ECOWAS regional integration, is a civil society organization dedicated to the postwar reconstruction and development of Liberia. BFF’s mission primarily involves initiating programs and activities aimed at promoting socio-economic, educational, international cultural understanding and cooperation.