Participants at the just ended regional workshop on Intellectual Property and Textiles have called for greater intellectual property to capture the value of textile products particularly for the export market.
The seven point communiqué issued by the participants at the end of the two-day workshop in Bamako, Mali, said the move would improve the living standards of stakeholders in the West African sub-region.
The communiqué obtained by the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Monday called for the establishment of a data base consisting of signs and symbols of textile products and the protection of intellectual property assets.
It called for financial gains and wellbeing of stakeholders based on a well designed, achievable and implementable plan in the short and long term as indicators of success.
The participants also resolved to establish a sub-regional organisation comprising countries that produce textile products in West Africa.
It also called for the setting up of institutions in West African countries that would monitor the impact of the programme, to ensure improvement of the income of stakeholders as well as to defend the artists' creations to enhance the awareness of the stakeholders in sub-region.
The communiqué said Christine Gent of World Fair Trade Organisation, UK, and Getachew Mengiste of Ethiopia would serve as technical consultants to the committee.
Participants at the workshop were from Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Senegal, UK, Guinea-Bissau, Ethiopia and the host country, Mali.