Senegal has launched a nationwide programme to ensure the impact of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games lasts beyond the final medal.
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye unveiled DUNDAL YOG last week, bringing together schools, athletes, businesses, artists, foundations, local authorities and civil society ahead of the Games.
Dakar 2026 will run from 31 October to 13 November, but the Senegalese government wants its impact to stretch well beyond the competition venues.
“The legacy of the Games will not wait until the Closing Ceremony. It is being built now, in our schools, in our neighbourhoods and in our daily lives,” Faye said.
The programme will focus on education, sport, culture, social development, the economy and the environment, with young people at the centre of the initiative.
Schools at centre of legacy plan
More than 150,000 students and teachers are expected to receive back-to-school kits through DUNDAL YOG.
The programme also plans to buy and distribute 200,000 Dakar 2026 tickets to schools and associations, giving more young people the opportunity to attend the competitions.
Schools will also host activities, inter-school challenges and programmes promoting sustainable development and nutrition.
The initiative will use sport to encourage leadership, responsibility and civic engagement, with particular attention to girls and the promotion of Olympic values including respect and self-improvement.
Taking Dakar 2026 beyond the stadium
DUNDAL YOG will also use the Games to promote Senegalese culture through the ‘Senegal Experience’.
Art, heritage, gastronomy and local traditions from across the country will feature in activities designed to give athletes, officials and visitors a wider experience of Senegal.
The programme will also target environmental and community development through reforestation, environmental education, green sporting activities and projects aimed at improving public spaces.
Caravans and YOG Festival Villages will take activities into communities, allowing people outside the competition venues to participate in the Dakar 2026 experience.
The organisers also want the programme to promote peace, solidarity, inclusion and civic responsibility.
Funding the legacy
The legacy drive will involve government institutions alongside sporting, cultural, economic and social organisations.
Sponsors, philanthropists and members of the public are also being encouraged to contribute.
At the launch, Faye announced 500 million West African CFA francs ($886,000/€761,000) from the Fondation Nationale Sénégal Solidaire, an initiative of Senegal’s First Lady, Marie Khone Faye.
The funding and wider DUNDAL YOG programme are designed to ensure Dakar 2026 leaves more than sporting memories when the Games close on 13 November.
Senegal is now attempting to make its Youth Olympic Games a platform for longer-term investment in its young people and communities.