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The 2025 Youth Transformational Empowerment and Mentorship (Y-TEaM) Programme successfully concluded, supporting 27 young leaders (14 young women and 13 young men) through a structured development journey that culminated in a graduation ceremony in January 2026.
From over 700 applications received across West Africa, 31 candidates were selected to begin the 2025 programme, with 27 completing the full cycle. The 2025 cohort benefitted from a comprehensive mix of capacity-building trainings, internships, and one-on-one mentoring, designed to strengthen leadership, technical competencies, and practical peacebuilding experience.
Personalised mentoring sessions with seasoned peacebuilding experts guided mentees through a process of self-discovery and professional growth. In parallel, the internship component offered hands-on exposure to WANEP’s peacebuilding work, including early warning, elections, Women and Youth, Peace and Security, and research. Through these engagements, mentees strengthened their skills in conflict prevention, leadership, governance, and policy influence, while enhancing their innovative thinking to address community and regional challenges.
The graduation ceremony, held on 29 January 2026, brought together 90 participants, including members of the 2025 Y-TEaM cohort, alumni from the 2023 and 2024 cohorts, mentors and staff from WANEP’s Regional Office and National Networks, as well as partners from ECOWAS. The ceremony featured mentee presentations, profile showcases, a video highlighting key milestones from the cohort, and messages of encouragement from Y-TEaM alumni.
Reflecting on the programme’s impact, Mr. Ifenanyi Okechukwu, WANEP’s Programme Director, stated: “Through the various thematic sessions, interactions and capacity building, we are reminded of the immense potential that lies within our youth—their creativity, energy, and vibrancy—and the critical role they play, and will continue to play, in complementing multi-stakeholder efforts to build new narratives of a stable, peaceful, and secure West Africa.”
Also speaking at the event, Mr. Constant Gnacadja, Head of the Division for Mediation and Coordination of Regional Political Affairs at ECOWAS, congratulated WANEP on the initiative and reaffirmed ECOWAS’ readiness to support similar programmes. Addressing the graduates, he emphasised that peacebuilding extends beyond mediation to include youth empowerment and capacity development, enabling young people to take responsibility, contribute meaningfully to society, and promote collective well-being.
The ceremony concluded with closing remarks from Mr. Okechukwu, who expressed deep appreciation to the programme’s mentors and partners, with special recognition of core funding partners, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and Austrian Development Agency (ADA), whose support remains vital to the programme’s success. He underscored that the mentors’ wisdom, dedication, encouragement, and unwavering support were central to the achievements of the 2025 Y-TEaM cohort.
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