UN Agencies Weekly Highlights- August 18-August 22

UN Women
First Lady launches RSLAF & UN Women-SL partnership. 

In a landmark step towards advancing gender equality in peacekeeping, Sierra Leone’s First Lady, Her Excellency, Dr. Fatima Maada Bio, has on Tuesday the 19th August 2025 launched the project-Women Repositioned to Meaningfully Participate and Lead in the Republic of Sierra Leone's Armed Forces and Support Peacekeeping Operations. 

“The Elsie Initiative Fund is significant in empowering women to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with men in leadership and Peacekeeping. Inclusion is not a privilege; it is a right.”  She said.  

The event which took place at the Myohaung Officers Mess, in Freetown brought together government stakeholders, development partners, top military leaders and CSOs.  

The overarching goal is to increase the number of Sierra Leonean women eligible for deployment in UN Peace Operations. At present, women constitute 13 per cent of RSLAF’s total uniformed personnel, although they make up 46 per cent of those deployed in current peacekeeping missions.  

RCO 
UN Resident Coordinator urges youth to lead action plan on youth, peace and security. 

The UN Resident Coordinator in Sierra Leone, Seraphine Wakana, has called on young people to take the lead in shaping the country’s first National Action Plan on Youth, Peace and Security (NAP-YPS). Speaking at the launch of the National Steering Committee and Technical Working Group in Freetown, she emphasized the milestone as a step toward empowering youth as key actors in building and sustaining peace.

Co-chaired with the Minister of Youth Affairs, Ibrahim Sannoh, the event highlighted the NAP-YPS as a framework to institutionalize youth engagement, close representation gaps, and mobilize resources in line with global, regional, and national priorities. The meeting also saw commitment statements signed by government representatives, with support pledged from ministries and peace institutions.
 

UNDP 
 Empowering youth through creative economy research.

This week in Freetown, UNDP in partnership with UniPod Sierra Leone, the Nallo Jr Arts Academy, and the Timbuktoo Africa Initiative, supported a training programme that prepares students to serve as enumerators to assess the state of Sierra Leone’s creative economy. 

The training provided young people with the skills to collect and analyze data on opportunities in music, film, fashion, design, and digital storytelling. By focusing on youth employment and income generation, the initiative equips students not only to contribute to evidence-based policymaking but also to shape strategies that help transform creative talent into sustainable livelihoods. 

Beyond data collection, the training emphasizes entrepreneurship, innovation, and the role of culture in driving inclusive growth. By engaging young creatives directly in research, the programme ensures that their perspectives inform national development strategies. 

This effort is part of UNDP’s broader commitment to unlock the potential of Sierra Leone’s creative economy, creating pathways for youth to turn passion into opportunity and building a more dynamic, resilient economy for the future. 

Click the link below to read more