Activity Details

Sport to promote peaceful coexistence (amended)

Sport to promote peaceful coexistence The Primary School Sports Organisation (OSEP) in Pabré came to a close on Saturday 13 May 2023. At the end of the games, Katabtenga Primary School was crowned champions, beating Nedogo Primary School. The closing ceremony was attended by representatives from the ECOWAS Centre for Youth and Sports Development. As part of its school programme, the Pabré Centre for Basic Education (CEB) organised its traditional sports and cultural event, the final of which took place on 13 May. The event featured competitions between several football, dance and athletics teams from primary schools. The involvement of the Centre for Youth and Sports Development in this event is justified by the theme of this year’s edition: ‘Sport and culture: educational tools for a resilient and prosperous Burkina’. This theme aligns with one of the CDJS’s objectives, which is to promote a culture of peace through sporting activities and the ECOWAS Volunteer Programme (PVC) that it implements. According to the representative of the sponsors, beyond theoretical knowledge, schools can only rise to the immense challenge by immersing children in the values that underpin living together, a sense of belonging and love for one’s neighbour. Sport equips them with skills that undoubtedly prepare them for personal development from a very young age. Taking part in cultural and sporting activities also enables them to gain a better understanding of their environment and their culture, and to appreciate their value as an integral part of our community’s richness. These initiatives provide an opportunity to help children fully embrace all aspects of cultural relativism and to understand that, when communities come together, each culture gives as well as receives. This added value for learners aims to promote intercultural understanding in order to reduce inter-community conflicts and foster the integration of different groups. The aim is to free children from any form of identity-based isolation and to promote an education that recognises that cultural endogamy is a barrier to development, integration and social cohesion. The organisers expressed their gratitude to the CDJS, which, by supporting this activity, demonstrates a thorough understanding of the challenges facing the ECOWAS region and the need to equip learners with the social and practical knowledge to help them overcome the contradictions that undermine the community and may jeopardise efforts towards lasting peace and regional integration.