On Sunday, 4 June, West African leaders met in Monrovia for the 51st Summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). On this occasion, they commended the peace efforts of the organisation’s member states whose armed forces have intervened in The Gambia (ECOMIG) and Guinea-Bissau (ECOMIB), while warning against the multiple threats to the region’s stability. During the summit, at which Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf handed over the reins to her Togolese counterpart Faure Gnassingbé, the heads of state made several strategic decisions. Read on

Of the millions of children who do not complete elementary school in West Africa each year, one third suffer from a disability. Their condition means they are confronted with many barriers to education. As part of its inclusive education programme, Handicap International seeks to remove the many barriers to the education of 170 000 children with disabilities in nine West African countries. Read on

African leaders gathered from 10-15 October at the Summit on Maritime Security and safety, held in Lomé within the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government. Twenty-two African delegations adopted the African Charter on Maritime Security, Safety and Development. The Charter aims to put into place an African strategy for the protection of its seas and oceans, to ensure peace, security and stability, and to make the African maritime space the key driver for sustainable economic development. Read on

An international team of scholars has launched an ambitious new research project on regional integration and international trade in Africa. Based at the Centre for African Studies at the University of Edinburgh, the African Governance and Space (AFRIGOS) programme examines the "respacing" of the continent through the political drive for integration and the reimagining of Africa's engagement with the global economy. Read on