The Compendium of Women's Skills of Côte d'Ivoire (COCOFCI) program is in its 6th year of activity in the Ivorian economic capital.

Designed by the gender and social affairs unit in partnership with the UNESCO Chair "Water, Women and Decision-Making", the project leaders want to extend their interventions to all women in Côte d'Ivoire, rural and peri-urban areas.

The launching ceremony of the subprogram "national deployment" which begins in Bouaké on 23 October and ends on 27th, took place on Thursday in Cocody in the presence of the press.

The National Coordinator of the Compendium of Women's Skills of Côte d'Ivoire, Minister Euphrasie Kouassi Yao, Special Advisor to the President of the Republic, responsible for gender, said that the project specifically set several objectives.

The aim is to identify women in all regions of Côte d'Ivoire, including the Districts of Abidjan and Yamoussoukro, who excel in their fields of activity with a view to making them models of success, initiate development projects in localities of women of all levels excelling in their chosen field of activities etc.

Several results are expected from this "national deployment" of the COCOFCI, the main ones of which are, according to the Councilor of the President of the Republic in charge of gender, identification, reward and promotion as models of success for women of all levels who excellent in their field of activity at rural and peri-urban level.

It is also the documentation and popularization of the practices of women of all levels who excel in their field of activity, from the design and implementation of development projects in the localities of identified women of all levels etc.

In principle, the "national deployment" of COCOFCI is planned in the 20 regions of Côte d'Ivoire in its first phase over the period 2017-2020.

In each of these regions, the project will reach the three targets of the compendium, notably high-ranking female executives who have not yet been identified, female graduates with skills to be asserted and women of all levels who excel in their fields of activity .

Minister Euphrasie Kouassi Yao said the project will start with a pilot phase that will test the tools designed and will take place in four sub-prefectures selected successively in the departments of Bouaké, Korhogo, Bondoukou and Daloa.

The results of this pilot phase will make it possible to refine the tools designed and the chronogram of implementation of the project.

According to the Minister, six regions will be affected during the first year and for the remainder of the implementation period, nine regions and / or Districts will be affected per year.

The identification criteria are enormous and the "candidates" must excel in the economic, social, environmental and political fields.

For criteria, a woman must be recognized as a better person in the exercise of her activity or profession, must contribute to the development of her region or community, ready to share her experience, have an inspiring experience, recognized as a role model her community, a pioneer in the pursuit of an activity, which has contributed to the expansion of an activity, which has lived off the fruits of her activity for five years, which has the qualities of a good educator in her living environment and who has contributed to the consolidation of peace in his family or community.

The launch took place in the presence of COCOFCI, including the vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Nabil Ajami, who argued that its role is to support the Compendium in order for things to change.