Inaugural Summit
2022 West Africa Adolescent Girls Summit
April 12-15, 2022 | John W. Gbedze Beach Resort, Marshall, Liberia
About the Inaugural Summit
The first West Africa Adolescent Girls Summit brought together over 100 adolescent girls and boys (aged 13-19) from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Ethiopia to advocate for gender equality through a week of skills training, team building, and campaign activities.
With more than two dozen government institutions, UN agencies, and international NGOs in attendance, the AGS laid the foundations for a platform where girls and boys can work together to develop their collective capacity for advocacy.
Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor addressing delegates at the inaugural summit
Why Adolescents?
An adolescent girl addresses leaders during the summit
Work with children and youth in international development is often focused either on education in the early years (0-11) or engagement with young adults (19-25). This can lead to a lack of intentional spaces where adolescents (13-19) are able to come together, build relationships, develop their networks, and have their voices heard.
The AGS aimed to fill this gap by developing a safe space for both adolescent girls and boys to connect, learn, and advocate together.
Adolescent-Led Planning
From the outset, adolescents took the lead on all aspects of preparing and planning. A core group of girls and boys from Liberia and Sierra Leone formed a planning committee in early 2021, meeting regularly throughout the year. They developed the objectives, designed the logo, agreed on the theme, and drafted the agenda.
The committee proposed holding the summit during school holidays. A WhatsApp group was set up and smartphones were provided to adolescents in rural areas to facilitate their participation.
"The most difficult part of the planning process for me were the Zoom meetings. It was my first time attending a meeting online. I overcame this challenge by repeatedly asking the adult assistants and peers to explain what they understood. The thing that surprised me the most was the provision of mobile phones to us in order to ease our work planning the Summit - this approach is one of a kind."
"My challenge has always been to speak in public. As someone who was born and raised in a small community with limited opportunities to express myself, I find it super difficult to speak among my peers. Through the support of GFC in bringing us together, I have been able to overcome that challenge. My trip to the Summit was my first experience of travel and was a real cultural shock."
Five Key Issues
Adolescents split into five separate groups, each focusing on a specific issue:
Promoting the Rights and Responsibilities of Adolescents
Advocating for Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE)
Keeping Girls in School and Demanding Education for All
Ending Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV)
Addressing Harmful Traditional Practices (FGM)
Summit Diary
Monday, April 11
The planning committee arrived at the venue with high energy. Girls and boys who had never met in person were encouraged to introduce themselves. Adolescents learned how to use social media platforms for advocacy and developed campaigns around issues they had collectively identified.
Tuesday, April 12
The planning committee was joined by adolescents from urban and rural areas of Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Ethiopia. Following a welcoming ceremony and safeguarding overview, adolescents split into five issue-focused groups. Partners including Plan International, UNICEF, UNWOMEN, UNFPA, and RFSU worked to create safe spaces for discussion.
Wednesday, April 13
Adolescents engaged with government representatives, INGOs (UNICEF, UNWomen, UNFPA, USAID, PLAN International), civil society organizations, community leaders, and business partners. The five groups presented their campaigns and were encouraged to ask questions of and demand action from adults in attendance.
Thursday, April 14
A panel discussion featured senior representatives from the government of Sierra Leone, ECOWAS, the National Civil Society Council of Liberia, and Plan International African Union Liaison Office. Adolescents spent the rest of the day producing their Calls to Action with specific demands for each stakeholder group.
Friday, April 15
The Vice President of Liberia, Jewel Howard Taylor, travelled to the Summit to hear directly from the adolescents. She agreed to take their Call to Action to the Liberian parliament, engage with the First Lady of Sierra Leone, and explore avenues into ECOWAS and the AU.
Stakeholder Feedback
"As the Education Director from USAID, just to listen to all of you Adolescents directly on what is important and what solutions you think can solve some of the challenges we are all working on is very important. This will help us in our planning, and we will take your voices into consideration."
"We are very excited to be part of this great initiative. Today I learnt there is power in collective voice. I was very impressed by the boys who told me that they are going to tell their peers to change their negative behavior towards girls."
"I learnt a lot from the Adolescents because the experiences from their different communities will help me improve my work and my planning. Those questions asked by Adolescents had a great impact on me. Working together will be very impactful."
2022 Calls to Action
Adolescents developed specific demands for each stakeholder group:
Impact & Legacy
On the Monday immediately following the Summit, the Vice President of Liberia contacted GFC to explore how she could support the adolescents. She shared that the Calls to Action had continued to ring in her ears when she returned home.
She committed to work with GFC, community partners, and all adolescents to draft an action plan. She also began exploring engagement with the First Lady of Sierra Leone and senior officials from ECOWAS and AU.
The adolescents set up a WhatsApp group to continue working together as a collective. This laid the foundation for what would become the Adolescent Influencers Movement.
"Now is the time to invest in Adolescent-led Advocacy in Africa!"
Participating Countries
Three African nations came together for the inaugural AGS:
Liberia
Host Country
Sierra Leone
Ethiopia
Acknowledgements
Funders
The 2022 AGS was made possible thanks to funding from the Novo Foundation, TIDES Foundation, and Postcode Peoples Lottery (PPL).
Supporting Organizations
UNICEF Liberia, UNFPA Liberia, UNWomen Liberia, Plan International Liberia, Plan International African Union Liaison Office Ethiopia, Action Aid Liberia, Medica Liberia, RFSU, DKT International, Kvinna till Kvinna, The Fund for Global Human Rights, and CITITRUST.
"I feel excited because there wasn't an event where they involved adolescents - asking them what they face and what are the challenges that they are going through."
Download the Full Report
Read the complete 2022 West Africa Adolescent Girls Summit report
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