MI Conducts Workshop for ECOWAS Commission

Abuja, Nigeria, July 20, 2007 - MI conducted a two-day workshop in July 2007 for the ECOWAS Commission to demonstrate the Threshold 21 and Multi Entity Gaming models and how they can be customized for ECOWAS and its member countries to explore and address critical sustainable development and regional cooperation issues.

During the discussions that ensued, the participants noted that ECOWAS currently lacked adequate tools to assess what is happening and what needs to be done. They want a tool to help with long term strategic planning, regional and national poverty reduction strategy (PRSP) preparation for the World Bank, Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations and implementation with the European Union, and post conflict resolution.  They are also seeking ways to monitor and evaluate ongoing and new programs. 

Much of the discussion that followed focused on how T21and MEG had been or could be adapted to address these issues in a coherent and systemic manner. Examples were presented of applications in Mali, Ghana, and the Balkans.

The participants agreed on the utility of the T21 and MEG models and recommended that actions be taken to obtain them for use by ECOWAS and its sixteen member countries, and to develop local capacity to use the model from within the ECOWAS Commission, national finance and planning ministries, as well as universities and research institutes.

The workshop was attended by ECOWAS officials, representatives of the Netherlands Embassy in Nigeria, and UK Department for International Development (DFID). Funding for the workshop was provided The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.