500 Days to Dakar 2026: Youth Charter Launches Global Call 2 Action for Sport, Youth and Peace

With 500 days to go until the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, the Youth Charter (www.YouthCharter.org) has launched a Global Call 2 Action to establish a bold new legacy vision for Africa and the world through sport, education, and community empowerment. 

This milestone moment comes as the Olympic Movement celebrates the historic appointment of Kirsty Coventry, the first female and African President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The Youth Charter is calling on the IOC, African Union (AU), and global stakeholders to ensure the Dakar Games leave a lasting impact beyond the sporting arena by investing in young people and their communities. 

“Dakar 2026 must be more than a celebration, it must be a catalyst for lasting change,” said Youth Charter Founder and Chair, Geoff Thompson. “We are calling on global institutions, governments, and civil society to back a pan-African legacy of safe spaces, opportunity, and hope for our youth.” 

Community Campus Legacy Proposal 

At the heart of the Youth Charter’s proposal is the Community Campus model—a place-based, people-led ecosystem of support that integrates education, sport, culture, enterprise and health. 

The Youth Charter is proposing the establishment of: 

• 26 Community Campuses across Africa, beginning in Senegal, 
• A continent-wide network of 100 trained Social Coaches, 
• A digital engagement platform to link youth voices to decision-makers, 
• A tri-partite legacy partnership between the IOC, AU, and Youth Charter. 

The proposal aligns with the IOC’s Olympism365 strategy, the AU’s Agenda 2063, and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. 

Voices from the Movement 

Young people and communities from Cheetham Hill in Manchester to Soweto in South Africa have already begun mobilising through Youth Charter-supported consultations, highlighting an urgent need for action in response to rising violence, inequality and disconnection from opportunity. 

The press release follows a formal submission made by the Youth Charter to the IOC and AU, requesting urgent steps to embed youth-led, community-driven legacy planning into Dakar 2026 and future Olympic movements. 

“We must move from events to legacies, from promises to places, where young people are engaged, equipped and empowered with hope and social, cultural and economic opportunities,” said Geoff Thompson. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Youth Charter.

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About Youth Charter:
The Youth Charter is a UK registered charity and UN accredited non-governmental organisation. Launched in 1993 as part of the Manchester 2000 Olympic Bid and the 2002 Commonwealth Games, the Youth Charter has Campaigned and Promoted the role and value of sport, art, culture and digital technology in the lives of disaffected young people from disadvantaged communities nationally and internationally. The Youth Charter has a proven track record in the creation and delivery of social and human development programmes with the overall aim of providing young people with an opportunity to develop in life. 

Specifically, The Youth Charter Tackles educational non-attainment, health inequality, anti-social behaviour and the negative effects of crime, drugs, gang related activity and racism by applying the ethics of sporting and artistic excellence. These can then be translated to provide social and economic benefits of citizenship, rights responsibilities, with improved education, health, social order, environment and college, university, employment and enterprise. 

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