Dakar, Senegal – 18 November 2025:  A two-week bootcamp on cybersecurity kicked off on 17 November 2025, at the Army Training Center in Thiès, Senegal. Organised by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), in partnership with Give1Project and the Open Society Foundations, the bootcamp brings together 100 participants from across countries in West and Central Africa.

This training aims to empower youth to become agents of transformation and ambassadors of peace through cyberspace, thereby promoting reconciliation, social cohesion, and local ownership of peace and development processes. 

During these two weeks, participants will be offered an experience combining experiential learning, peer collaboration, and sessions led by experts. They will work in teams to jointly design digital peacebuilding initiatives, thereby promoting leadership and innovation. 

As part of this training program, an online module for the first cohort of 200 young people from West and Central African countries has been running since September 2025, aiming at developing their IT skills for detecting and preventing cyberattacks and online violence, as well as implementing an immediate response to cyberattacks. 

The trainees who have completed at least 80% of the online module will be trained to become peace ambassadors using cyberspace as a safe platform to forge reconciliation, social cohesion, and promote local ownership of peace and development processes.

The bootcamp is being facilitated by trainers from UNDP, Give 1 Project, Ecobank, the United Nations Capital Fund (UNCDF), and representatives from the Open Society Foundations, to consolidate and put into practice the digital and leadership skills acquired during the online training.

At the end of the bootcamp, the trainees will be encouraged to become digital ambassadors for peace in their communities, and successful graduates will be connected with AI-based job search platforms and fintech tools to promote financial inclusion and entrepreneurship.

By integrating digital tools into conflict transformation strategies and content production skills, the initiative seeks to strengthen community resilience, amplify underrepresented voices, and promote a culture of peace, dialogue, and collaboration.

Contact details:

Bezawit Mekonnen | Communications Officer | UNDP Sub-Regional Hub for West and Central Africa | bezawit.mekonnen@undp.org | Tel.: +221 78170744

Dan-Vieira da Costa | Communications Officer | UNDP Sub-Regional Hub for West and Central Africa | dan-vieira.da.costa@undp.org | Tel. +221 771911318