From Senegal to Japan: #Sport4SD project partner Kokushikan University hosts training course in Tokyo
Young leaders from three continents, Europe, Asia and Africa, gathered in Tokyo to learn, explore and contribute to the sustainable development goals using sport as a tool.
The training course in Japan, organised within the framework of the Erasmus+ funded “Sport for Sustainable Development” project, was hosted by the Kokushikan University and held in Tokyo, Japan, on 8-14 September 2022, in which ENGSO Youth Chair Ugne Chmeliauskaite, Vice Chair Filip Filipic, Committee members – Henrietta Weinberg, Anett Fodor, Sofie Korbee, Luka Antonia Börger took part.
Day 1:
The training course in Tokyo kicked off with team building activities and with a discussion about the theoretical part of the sustainable development goals, concept of sustainability, and the guidelines and regulations of the cities that submit the bid to host mega sport events. One of the main discussion points was climate action.
After the intro session the participants made a field visit to the Meiji Jingu (Shinto shrine). Shinto, Japan’s ancient original religion, places value in harmony with nature, which should be reflected in everyday life.
Day one finished with the Japanese cultural night activities.
Day 2:
The second day of the training course began with the Sport for Sustainable Development manual “ScoreAll17” workshop, led by ENGSO Youth Young Delegates and Job shadowing participants Rawand Ben Brahim and Isaiah Kioiloglou.
The workshop was followed by the conversation on personal stories that participants shared about small actions, projects, leaderships, or any other initiatives that contribute to the sustainable development of the mega sport events.
Second day concluded with the Senegalese cultural night, traditional dances and food, and exploring “friendships without borders”.
Day 3:
Day three started with a workshop on sustainability of mega sport events – specifically Tokyo 2020, Paris 2024 and Dakar 2026. ENGSO Youth Committee member Luka Borger presented the sustainability strategy of the French Olympic Committee and Babacar Dijileh, volunteer for Senegalese Olympic Committee, presented the Olympic Academy of Senegal and the importance of sustainability actions implemented in the work with volunteers.
Presentations were followed by Ms Etsuko Yamada, explaining the Agenda 2030, sport contribution to achieve SDGs and presenting the guide for translating policy into practice and effective programme management “Bridging the divide in sport and sustainable development” by Japan sport council and International Platform on Sport and Development.
We concluded the day by visiting the Olympic site – National Stadium of Tokyo and Olympic museum. The final act of day three was European cultural night.
Day 4:
Day four was all about diving deeper in the documents: CSR and sustainability strategies of the Tokyo and Paris Olympic Games, and Lillehammer and Dakar Youth Olympic Games through the social, economic and environmental dimensions. The participants researched the key findings, including points on youth, culture, infrastructure and education that have an impact on formal and non-formal education through sport.
In the afternoon we continued with the Erasmus+ programme and the opportunities it brings to connect different continents through Sport and Youth programmes. The session was led by Bence Garamvolgyi, ENGSO Youth Alumni, co-founder of BAIS, PhD Candidate in University of Physical education in Hungary. Afterwards, youth leaders from Europe, Africa and Asia finalised the day with #BeActive session led by professor Junji Hosogeo with a lot of coordination jumping and rope jumping techniques.
Day 5:
Final day of the training course, day five, started with the creation of dissemination activities in France, Hungary, Senegal, Japan and at the upcoming final event, which will take place in Paris, France at the end of November.
The end of the training course is just a start of further work. ENGSO Youth chair Ugne Chmeliauskaite led the final session of the training course and showcased the importance of youth leadership, sustainable actions and ENGSO Youth work.
We had a pleasure during these days to hear, see and try different Japanese sports, such as Judo and Kendo. And also to hear a personal story from Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Kano Omata, who was one of the training course participants.
The closing ceremony of the training course took place in the Kokushikan university with addresses from the Executive Director and President of the University highlighting the importance of the SDGs and Youth, especially for keeping the peace in the world.
Special appreciation goes to our hosts, Kokushikan University. We would also like to thank all the participants for their contributions.
Sport4SD project is a collaboration between 5 partners from 3 continents: Europe, Africa and Asia: ENGSO Youth as the coordinator, Hungarian University of Physical Education, Sport and Citizenship, National Olympic Committee of Senegal and Kokushikan University of Japan.
