1.2.1. Selection of participants for the OLC courses (25 participants/ country, 40% women)

The first Organic Leadership Course debuted in Ghana in April 2018. A selection process of the candidates had previously started. In part, the participants were selected from a pool of candidates recommended by the local partners in Ghana. A set of criteria was established and discussed with the local partners in order to ensure that the most motivated and competent candidates were going to have the highest chances of being selected. In order to open up the course to other potential candidates outside Ghana, IFOAM - Organics International also published a call at regional level. The total number of participants was 21, with almost 30% women. The same process was adopted in the Togo and Burkina Faso OLCs, which were also completed in the second project year. A special attention has been given to the gender quota, as well as to the enforcement of objective selection criteria of the most motivated and qualified applicants.