APA – Dakar (Senegal) From December 23-24, 2023, a half-marathon and a walking race will be held in Yoff, focusing on environmental protection.
Healthy bodies in a healthy environment. This is the aim of the Club Environnement de Yoff (CEY) and the apolitical association Avenir Du Peuple (ADP), based in this commune of Dakar, the Senegalese capital. A year ago, these two organizations separately organized the first edition of a hike and a half-marathon.
But on December 23 and 24, through a Green Week, sport and the environment will come together in a community faced with “the lack of trees, air, water and soil pollution,” Ibrahima Ngom, the president of CEY emphasized.
In Yoff, a traditional fishing village of the Lebou community, he lamented, “marine species are disappearing because of plastic waste and sewage dumped directly into the sea” in the absence of an efficient sanitation system.
“We live at a time when environmental issues are fundamental. We are fully aware of this issue. That’s why we’ve integrated it into the Dakar half-marathon and Green Randonnée,” Mr. Ngom explained.
Doudou Diouf Faye asserted that the collaboration with the ‘Club Environnement de Yoff’ is a natural one, insofar as “the promotion of education, culture, sports and the protection of the environment are the objectives” of ‘Avenir Du Peuple,’ of which he is the leader. “A marathon takes place in the open air, which is why we need to take the environment into account in our activities,” Mr. Faye added.
Green Week Sport participants can choose to take part in the half-marathons (21 and 10 kilometers) or the 5-kilometer hike. For the long-distance races alone, organizers are counting on at least 1,000 registrants.
“We’re working to develop young people. What’s more, one of the aims of these competitions is to encourage vocations in Yoff and elsewhere. We want to participate in the emergence of future international athletes and make this half-marathon an event on the world calendar to compete, in the years to come, with those of the major Western cities,” the president of Avenir Du Peuple said.
For the general public, a panel discussion is scheduled for Saturday December 23 on the theme of “Environmental education, what approach(es) for inclusive awareness-raising?” Environmental activists, state and local authorities are expected to take part… A strong plea will be made on this occasion”, said Ibrahima Ngom, president of the ‘Club Environnement de Yoff.’
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