the toolkit.PHOTO; Courtesy
Exactly one year before Africa hosts its first-ever Olympic Games, a new wave of youth engagement is sweeping across the continent.
On 31 October 2025, the Olympic Values Education Programme (OVEP) launched “The Road to Dakar 2026”, a toolkit designed to promote the Olympic values of excellence, respect, and friendship while empowering young people through sport.
The initiative comes ahead of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG), the first Olympic sports event to be hosted in Africa, and it is already showing how sport can be used as a tool for social impact.
Education Through Sport
Far from being a promotional tool for the Games, The Road to Dakar 2026 reflects a deeper commitment to education through sport.
The toolkit features 15 activities that combine physical games, creative workshops, and cultural exploration under three themes:
Dakar-inspired activities exploring traditions, music, and rhythms; activities inspired by Olympic symbols and ceremonies; and “Sports in Action” challenges drawn from the sports set to feature at the Dakar Games.
Developed by the Dakar 2026 team and published by the Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage (OFCH), the toolkit has been tested since 2022 and made freely available for educators, coaches, and youth leaders across the continent.
It is inclusive, flexible, and adaptable, designed for young people of all ages and backgrounds.
“Olympic values are not only about performance on the field of play. It is a celebration of youth, diversity, and possibility. It reminds us that, through the Olympic values of excellence, friendship, and respect, we can empower young people to bring positive change to their communities and into the world. The Road to Dakar 2026 toolkit was created with this purpose in mind,” said IOC President Kirsty Coventry.
“Designed for use across Olympafrica Centres, it provides educators, coaches, and youth leaders with practical ways to engage young people through sport and learning. Each activity invites participants to bring to life the Olympic values, not only on the field of play, but also in how they collaborate, care, and create together.”
Her words highlight a vision of sport philanthropy in practice: using sport as a force for education, inclusion, and social cohesion.
A Continental Rollout
The launch of The Road to Dakar 2026 was marked by events at 26 Olympafrica Centres in 22 countries across Africa, with support from the IOC’s Olympic Solidarity programme.
These Olympafrica Centres are operated by the International Olympafrica Foundation, which has been dedicated since 1988 to enabling African countries to benefit from the positive impact of Olympism while also promoting the Olympic values.
Through its network of more than 40 community sports centres, the Foundation provides children and young people with safe and free access to sport, education, and socio-economic activities, reaching more than 100,000 young participants each year.
“It is very inspiring to see the Youth Olympic Games take place for the first time on our continent; this is a moment that unites all continents in a spirit of friendship and excellence,” said Angélica Manhiça, Olympafrica Centre Director in Boane, Mozambique.
“Our journey through the Olympic Education Programme has brought very positive results. Each young person and adolescent in our centre shares the mission to learn, share, and teach others about the Olympic values. This truly transforms lives.
Empowerment Through Partnership
The rollout of The Road to Dakar 2026 illustrates the collaboration between the IOC, the Dakar 2026 Organising Committee and the International Olympafrica Foundation. It blends global resources with local leadership to create a model of sustainable sport philanthropy rooted in participation, inclusion and education.
By linking the Youth Olympic Games to grassroots development, the initiative demonstrates how major sporting events can deliver tangible social impact. Whether in classrooms, community fields or Olympafrica Centres, young Africans are learning that sport can be both a right and a resource — a tool for empowerment, unity and lifelong learning.
A Celebration of Youth and Possibility
As preparations for Dakar 2026 gather pace, The Road to Dakar 2026 is already shaping the Games’ most meaningful legacy. Beyond stadiums and ceremonies, it represents a movement that uses the power of sport to teach values, strengthen communities, and build futures.
In the words of Kirsty Coventry, “It reminds us that, through the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect, we can empower young people to bring positive change to their communities and into the world.”
That belief lies at the heart of the Olympic Movement’s evolving mission in Africa. And with thousands of young people now on the road to Dakar, the continent’s first Youth Olympic Games are already achieving their greatest victory: inspiring a generation to create change through sport.
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