On Friday, May 10, 2019, the YESS event "Youth, Environment/Education, Sports and Solidarity" was held at University of Ghana. Jointly organized by the French Embassy in Ghana and the French company Decathlon, which has been based in Accra for two years, its objective was to support the practice of sport and its values (solidarity, cohesion, respect, fraternity...), to strengthen the links between the youth of Ghana and France, while raising awareness among participants of the need to preserve the environment.
Sports Day in Accra
About 300 children and their companions, 20 coaches from Decathlon Ghana, the French ambassador Anne Sophie Avé and her team gathered at the University of Ghana - Legon to celebrate the sport and its values! These students came from different Ghanaian schools, Bishop Girls Basic School, Al-Waleed comprehensive basic school, Muslim institute school, Sakumono complex 1 primary school, University of Ghana basic school, Lekma 1&2 primary school but also from the Lycée Français d’Accra and the German-Swiss school.
The promotion of the practice of sport, as a vector of good health, its values (solidarity, fraternity, conviviality, respect) was the key word of the day. The different schools competed in different competitions such as football, tug-of-war and relay in a joyful and cheerful atmosphere.
University of Ghana basic school distinguished itself brilliantly by winning the tug-of-war and relay competitions. The winners were fortunate to receive a trophy from the Regional Deputy Minister, Hon. Elizabeth Sackey for tug-of-peace and by Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, Hon. Perry Curtis Kwabla Okudzeto, for the relay. Sakumono complex 1 primary school, for its part, won the football tournament for which it was awarded the trophy by the Ghanaian football star Abédi Ayew Pelé.
Other activities proposed by Decathlon Ghana made it possible to introduce children to table tennis, archery and badminton.
Raise awareness of environmental protection among the youngest
This first edition of YESS also aimed to make environmental protection an important theme during the day. As the Ambassador of France to Ghana Anne Sophie Avé pointed out:’’ It is necessary to involve young people in sports activities but also to raise their awareness of environmental protection’’
The goal? To raise awareness of the need to preserve the planet in a fun way, in particular through the activities of reusing plastic bottles, proposed by Plastic Punch, an NGO working to preserve the environment and biodiversity, and a quiz on good environmental practices. In addition, as recalled by the Director General of the Ghana Education Service, Prof. Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa, (representing the Minister of Education Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh):’’I believe it is important to raise awareness among students from an early age so that they are aware throughout their adult lives and contribute to creating an environmentally conscious society’’.
This event was an opportunity to strengthen the ties between the youth of Ghana, France but also its neighbours such as Germany and Switzerland. Sport has thus been the link between peoples whose principles coincide with the essential values of our countries.
Thank you to all our sponsors for making this event a great success: Total Ghana, Voltic, Nestlé Ghana, Koala et Golden Exotics.
See you next year for a new edition with even more schools and other activities to discover!
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Embassy of France in Accra, Ghana.
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