On Monday 12 April 2021, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) launched a book entitled "Harnessing the demographic dividend for emergence: Case of the commune of Gueule Tapée-Fass-Colobane." The book launch attracted great attention and was attended by numerous high profile guests such as Government officials, local administrators, UN agencies, partners, the media and a cross-section of the project beneficiaries. The book describes a project implemented by UNFPA in the FassE commune since 2017 pilots the operationalization of the demographic dividend concept in a popular urban setting. During the ceremony several requests were made for the project to be replicated in other communes as recounted in the book.

The UNFPA Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Mr. Mabingue Ngom said: "This book that brings us together is a contribution of the United Nations Population Fund to accelerate the achievement of the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union Agenda 2063." According to Mr. Ngom, following the adoption of the African Union (AU) roadmap on the demographic dividend by the Heads of State and Governments in 2017 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and the mandate that this Pan-African institution gave to UNFPA to coordinate its implementation, it was essential to move from theory to action and better equip countries through the implementation of a model for harnessing the Demographic Dividend.

This project, which has been tested in the commune of Gueule Tapée Fass Colobane, is indeed a major innovation in the field of development and has made it possible to curb several social problems. According to the Mayor of the commune, Mr. Ousmane Ndoye, "the FassE project has contributed to strengthening the resilience of young people, reducing their economic and social vulnerability in a context marked by the post COVID 19 recovery, and stemming irregular migration caused by unemployment, among other things.”

The launch was an opportunity for Ms. Safietou Diop, president of the women’s network Siggil Jigeen and co-author of the book with Mayor Ousmane Ndoye, to reiterate her words, insisting on the fact that "the Siggil Jigeen Network has never ceased to emphasize the underlying message that women's problems are development problems and that, conversely, development problems, including those covered by the expression “capture of the demographic dividend”, are ultimately women's problems."

Prefaced by President Macky Sall of Senegal, who recognized the efforts of UNFPA and the commune of Geule Tapée Fass Colobane, the Head of State expressed his wish to see the FassE project become a source of reflection and inspiration for all other communes in Senegal and Africa. Several ministers and ministerial advisors as well as elected officials took turns advocating for the rapid scaling up of the project in other communes in Senegal, notably H.E. Néné Fatouata Tall, Minister of Youth, and EL haj Kassé, Minister Advisor to the President in charge of communication.

The UN Resident Coordinator, Siaka Coulibaly remarked that the model of implementation of the project through collaboration of several agencies exemplified the spirit of ONE UN. Several senior UN officials attended the launch including the UN Resident Coordinator Siaka Coulibaly, UN Women Regional Director Ms. Oulimata Sarr, UNAIDS Regional Director Djibril Diallo and UNIDO Representative Christophe YVETOT.