IOC YOUTH DEVELOPMENT CENTRE - ZAMBIA
Opened on May 11 2010 by former President of Zambia, Rupiah B. Banda and then International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge, the sports facility has been used by many athletes who have gone on to compete in major competitions such as the Olympic Games later in life.
In this video, young people enjoy sports such as table tennis, football, track & field, and others in the Olympic Youth Development Centre in Zambia. The centre is the flagship project in the IOC’s Sport for Hope programme and offers a wide range of sport activities and educational courses and workshops that connect with the Olympic values to improve everyday living. These programs are open to the local community, including everyone from school children to Olympic hopefuls. In its effort to promote women empowerment, the center also hosts workshops in technology and sports administration to create opportunities for everyone.
In a statement OYDC Zambia said: "It is vital to note that the OYDC Zambia remains a safe haven for talent identification and development and we would like to take this opportunity to appreciate all our cooperating partners who have been supportive to our operations and programmes.
"On this day we would like to remind citizenry that the Centre remains open for any possible partnership from the corporate world and all Non-Governmental Organisations who have plans to use sport to execute their programmes by reaching a huge number of people through well organised league games, educational workshops and outreach campaigns."
Over the past decade, the Centre has hosted a number of events including the IOC Women in Sport Conference in 2015, the Commonwealth Games Association Conference in 2016, the Africa Netball Championship in 2018 and the UN All Africa Games in 2019.