Get Guardian on GoogleThe Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has sponsored 24 young volunteers from its member states to participate in the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, as part of efforts to use sports to promote regional integration, youth development and social cohesion.
The volunteers, deployed across various competition venues, are expected to assist with welcoming visitors, providing guidance and supervision, and offering logistical support throughout the Games.
The regional bloc disclosed this in a statement on its partnership with Senegal’s National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSS), through which it is providing financial and technical assistance for the organisation of the event.
The Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, which opened on October 31 at the Abdoulaye Wade Stadium in Diamniadio, Senegal, mark the first time an Olympic event is being hosted on African soil.
ECOWAS said its intervention extends beyond financial support to include training for young people in leadership, civic engagement, Olympic values, social cohesion and community spirit.
The initiative is intended to provide opportunities for young people from across West Africa to participate in an international sporting event while strengthening their understanding of regional cooperation and shared identity.
The Commission also highlighted a regional youth forum held earlier in the year in Saly, Senegal, where participants from several member states examined how sports could contribute to human development, peace-building, social cohesion, employability and entrepreneurship.
The forum was followed by an awareness programme involving ambassadors and presidents or secretaries-general of national Olympic committees from member states, as well as a training camp for athletes preparing for the Games.
Another component of the initiative is the ECOWAS Village, which the Commission said would operate throughout the second week of the competition as a platform for information, engagement and interaction with young people and visitors.
The facility is expected to showcase the organisation’s programmes in youth employment, entrepreneurship, volunteering, education, mobility and human development.
ECOWAS Commission President, General Birame Diop, and Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs, Professor Nassirou Bako-Arifari, attended the opening ceremony alongside Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who chairs the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, and International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry.
The Games provide an opportunity for African countries to demonstrate their capacity to host major international sporting events, while drawing attention to the role of sports in youth participation and development.
For ECOWAS, the partnership forms part of its wider efforts to strengthen regional solidarity and create platforms through which young people can contribute to the development of West Africa.
