The Innovation for Democracy Foundation (IDF) has chosen Cameroon to host the Coastal and Central Arc Laboratory, a research unit with a sub-regional remit covering Central Africa, countries. It will be coordinated by Dr Richard Makon, a Cameroonian academic and media personality.“Overall, the Laboratoire Arc Cotier et Central has set itself six main missions in order to map and network actors working in the field of democracy, to disseminate democratic ideas and approaches, to provide tools for people interested in democracy issues, to share information and data, and to support and accompany the actors involved,” said Dr Richard Makon last Wednesday during a press conference to launch the initiative.

The lab, which is an offshoot of the Innovation Foundation for Democracy (IDF), will develop, among other things, “training for young bloggers in the sub-region, a leadership programme open to civil society actors, and a research programme on security and democracy issues,” Dr Makon said, adding that other programmes are in the pipeline.

Jacques Jonathan Nyemb, President of The Okwelians, who attended the press conference to launch the research unit, was enthusiastic about the opportunity for his Think Do Tank to host such a sub-regional initiative. “Hosting the Coastal and Central Arc Laboratory, which is working on the same issues as The Okwelians Laboratory, is an opportunity for us in that it will allow us to extend the activities of The Okwelians beyond Cameroon.This cohabitation between The Okwelians Laboratory and the IDF’s Coastal and Central Arc Laboratory gives us the opportunity to accelerate reflection and action around the societal paradigm shift, but also the opportunity to accelerate reflection on the definition of a sustainable governance model that will guarantee more peace, more stability and more prosperity in the countries of the Central and Coastal Africa sub-region” said the barrister.