February 15-22, 2016–Population Reference Bureau (PRB), in partnership with Centre de Recherche en Economie et Finances Appliquées de Thiès (CREFAT), held a week-long policy communications workshop for researchers and civil servants in Saly, Senegal. This workshop was specific to the demographic dividend and was intended to train participants on how to effectively communicate their research on the demographic dividend to policy makers in Senegal.
Participants practiced breaking down complex issues related to the demographic dividend, turning them into essential facts for busy policymakers. Participants were trained to distill their own research specific to the demographic dividend, and craft policy messages and recommendations for action in a tailored 10-minute policy presentation. The training also included a session on the demographic dividend in Sub-Saharan Africa from the International Monetary Fund, as well as a panel discussion led by member of United Nations Population Fund-Senegal on best practices for communication with policy makers. Nine participants were trained in total, including members of the Direction de la Monnaie et du Crédit, Agence Nationale de la Statistique et de la Démographie, Centre d’Etudes de Politiques pour le Développement, CREFAT and other organizations.
