John Gbenagnon , Benin
John founded the SOHOUTOU Initiative to encourage civic engagement and social inclusion for young people, with a focus on improving female representation in political arenas. The SOHOUTOU Initiative does this through a series of workshops where women are encouraged to run for office. Women are underrepresented in politics in Benin with only 7% of legislators being women in 2017a. The workshops strive to train young women in leadership by widening their horizons and demonstrating the potential impact they could have as lawmakers and civil society leaders. The SOHOUTOU Initiative also has a blog about peace and social inclusion with over 1,600 subscribers featuring content published by a team of contributors.
He has experiences in project management, bilingual translation (French-English) and has more than 5 years of expertise in communication and community development. He is currently serving as the Communication Officer for the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS), a role he joined in October 2017.