West Africa Regional Hub Policy Event, July 2022

Date: July 20th, 2022
Host: Le Centre de Recherche et d’Action pour la Paix (CERAP)
Location: Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Priority Theme: Democracy, Conflict, & Polarization

On July 20, 2022, EGAP co-hosted an event celebrating the official launch of the West Africa Regional Hub with le Centre de Recherche et d’Action Pour la Paix (CERAP) at Universite Jesuite in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Arsène Brice Bado, Research Director and the regional hub lead at CERAP, and Leonardo Arriola, Associate Professor of Political Science at UC Berkeley, presented the partnership at the launch event in French and English. The policy event was hosted in conjunction with the Learning Days experimental methods workshop hosted by CERAP during the week of July 18-22.

Additionally, two research teams presented their recent work to Abidjan-based policymakers and practitioners. During the 2020 election in Côte d’Ivoire, researchers from CERAP (Arsène Brice Bado) and UC Berkeley’s Center for African Studies (Leonardo Arriola, Justine Davis, Allison Grossman and Aila Matanock) developed a data collection initiative, supplemented by a peacebuilding program, aimed at documenting violence and promoting peace. In the second research presentation, EGAP member Jessica Gottlieb discussed a study that she and fellow EGAP member Claire Adida, along with their their co-author Richard Moussa, conducted with the National Democratic Institute (NDI). In this study, the researchers worked with NDI to evaluate the effectiveness of one of NDI’s digital literacy programs in Côte d’Ivoire–a program designed with the goal of reducing misinformation and polarization.

The event brought together Abidjan-based policymakers and practitioners from governmental organizations, international organizations, and local and regional civil society organizations. This event was featured on national television in Côte d’Ivoire.

Media Coverage

Watch a news clip from the télévision nationale RTI 1 featuring the policy event (in French):

Watch a news clip from the télévision nationale catholique ECCLESIA TV featuring the policy event (in French):

Recordings

Watch Leonardo Arriola introduce the EGAP West Africa Regional Hub (in English):

Watch Brice Bado introduce the EGAP West Africa Regional Hub (in French):

Watch the full event (in French):