West Africa Civil Society Institute wacsi.org

About Us&Contact

WACSI opens on Weekdays from 8:00 to 17:00 GMT, from Mondays to Fridays

About WACSI

The West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) was established by the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) in 2005 to reinforce the capacities of civil society in the sub-region. The Institute became operational in July 2007.

WACSI’s mission is to strengthen the institutional and operational capacity of Civil Society Organisations to engage in policy intervention and the promotion of democratic values and principles in West Africa.

The Vision is to strengthen civil society organisations as strategic partners for the promotion of democracy, good governance and national development in the sub region.

The role of WACSI is to serve as a resource centre for training, research, experience sharing and dialogue for CSOs in West Africa

Regional focus: Having understood the challenges that development practitioners face in the West African sub region, our creative and custom-made interventions continue to respond to operational and institutional challenges of national and regional civil society institutions in Liberia, Nigeria, Togo, Benin, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal. In the near future, the Institute will also focus on invigorating, the capacities of development practitioners in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Gambia, Cape Verde and Guinea Bissau.

WACSI is the secretariat for the Africa Security Sector Capacity Building Network for CSOs.

Justice Emile Short, member

Justice Emile Short, Ghanaian, served as a Commissioner for the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice between 1993 and 2010. Between 2004 and 2009, he was granted leave of absence from the Commission to take up an appointment as a Judge with the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, in Arusha, Tanzania. He has served as the President of the African Ombudsman Centre, and as a Consultant for the UNDP, the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, the Danish Institute of Human Rights, the Carter Center (USA), and Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Sweden.
Professor. Adebayo Olukoshi, Board Chair

Professor Adebayo Olukoshi, Nigerian; is currently the Director of the United Nations African Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP) based in Dakar, Senegal. He is a Professor of International Economic Relations, and was the Executive Secretary of CODESRIA for 11 years.
Dr. Jibrin Ibrahim, Member

Dr. Jibrin Ibrahim is the Director of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), a regional research, advocacy and training NGO in West Africa. A political scientist and development expert with over thirty years of active engagement with the civil society, Dr. Ibrahim was a member of the Nigerian Electoral Reform Committee and the Chair of the Global Call for Action against Poverty (GCAP) Dr. Ibrahim is the current chair of the West africa Civil Society Forum (WACSOF) Executive Committee.
Nana Asantewa Afadzinu, Executive Director

Nana Asantewa Afadzinu, Ghanaian; currently serves as the Executive Director of WACSI. Until September 2010, she was the Regional Policy Advisor for IBIS West Africa. She also served as Country Coordinator for OSIWA-Nigeria from January 2006-2008.
Dr. Said Adejumobi, Member

Dr. Said Adejumobi, Nigerian; is currently the Chief of Public Administration Section and Coordinator of the Africa Governance Report (AGR) for the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He is an accomplished researcher, and has edited noteworthy publications on political developments in West Africa.
Mme. Fatima Mbaye, Member

Ms. Fatima Mbaye, Mauritanian is a human rights lawyer, Vice-President of the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) and President of the Mauritanian Human Rights Association (member of FIDH) awarded the Anti-Slavery Award in 1998. In 1999, Fatima Mbaye became the first African to receive the third Nuremberg International Prize for Human Rights.
Prof. Esi Sutherland-Addy, Member

Prof. Esi Sutherland-Addy, Ghanaian; is a Senior Research Fellow and Head of Language, Literature and Drama Section at the Department of African Studies, University of Ghana. She is a distinguished educationist and former Minister of Higher Education in Ghana.
Mme. Aicha Bah-Diallo, Member

Madam Aïcha Bah-Diallo, Guinean, is a champion of girls' and women's education. She is a former Minister of Education in Guinea, a position she held for over seven years. She was adviser to the Director-General of UNESCO on girls' education in Africa until late 2009. Madam Bah-Diallo played a guiding role in the formation of the Forum of African Women Educationalists (FAWE) in 1992, and is the current President. Madam Bah-Diallo is a member of the Mo Ibrahim Prize Committee.

Mohammed Ibrahim

Mohammed Ibrahim is a Ghanaian. He joined WACSI in 2008 and provides janitorial services to the Institute. Before joining WACSI, he worked at the Palestinian Embassy in Accra, Ghana.
Maxwell Apenteng

Maxwell Apenteng is a Ghanaian and joined WACSI in September 2010. He provides gardening and janitorial services at the Institute.
Pearl Atsou-Dzini

Pearl Atsou-Dzini is a Ghanaian. She joined the Institute in August 2011 as an Executive Assistant to assist the Executive Director’s office.
Jimm Chick Fomunjong

Jimm Chick Fomunjong, Cameroonian, is the Communications and Information Assistant of the Institute. He Joined WACSI in January 2012. Jimm has worked as a journalist for local and international media for ten years.
Harrison Owusu

Harrison Boakye Owusu is a Ghanaian. He joined the Institute in October, 2010 as an intern to assist the Research and Documentation unit with the Civil Society Organizations in Ghana e-directory Project’.
Franck A. SOMBO

Franck A. SOMBO is an Ivorian and currently Programmes Assistant of WACSI. He joined the Institute in July 2011. He assists the different Programme Units of the Institute with the design and the implementation of the programs.
Kwabena Enning Attafuah

Kwabena Enning Attafuah is a Ghanaian. He joined the Institute in November, 2011 through the National Service Scheme to assist the Finance Unit.
Olalekan Michael-Aina

Olalekan Michael-Aina is a Nigerian. He joined the institute November 2011 as an intern attached to the programmes Department of the Institute.
Barbara Sitti-Wilson

Barbara Sitti-Wilson is a Ghanaian. She joined WACSI in October 2011 as a National Service Person to assist in translation and interpretation.
Emile Bela Kouakou

KOUAKOU Bela Emile is Ivorian. He joined the Institute in January 2012 as an intern under the Next Generation Internship program.
Assiatou Diallo

Assiatou Diallo is a Guinean, and currently serves as the Policy Advocacy Assistant. She joined the Institute in January 2012 and is graduate of the Next Generation Internship.
George Adu Mintah

George is a Ghanaian and provides protocol-related administrative support to the Institute. He joined the Institute in October 2006.
Grace Akpene Ziggah

Grace Akpene Ziggah is Togolese by nationality and serves as the Institute's Receptionist/ Bilingual Secretary. She joined the Institute in June 2009 as a professional Bilingual Secretary.
Bethel Kwame Boateng

Bethel is a Ghanaian. He provides technical and IT related support to the Institute. He joined the Institute in October 2006.
Omolara T. Balogun

Omolara Balogun is a Nigerian and currently the Policy Advocacy officer of the Institute. Omolara joined WACSI in September 2008 and is a graduate of the Next Generation Internship Program.
Charles Kojo Vandyck

Charles Kojo Vandyck is a Ghanaian and is the Institute’s Capacity Building Officer. He has served in this position since April 2008.
Kwabena Kroduah

Kwabena Kroduah is a Ghanaian and serves as the Finance Officer at the Institute. Kwabena joined WACSI in January 2008.
Katherine Adarkwa

Katherine is a Ghanaian and joined WACSI in July 2006 with a background in Business Management and Administration. Katherine provides administrative and logistics support to the Institute.
Nana Asantewa Afadzinu

Nana Afadzinu is a Ghanaian and currently the Executive Director of the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI). She joined WACSI as Executive Director in October 2010.