In Dakar, the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) are not just experienced on the competition grounds. They are also forged in the smiles exchanged at the entrance to the venues, in the explanations given to visitors, in the encouragement offered to athletes and in the friendships that blossom between young people from various ECOWAS member states.

For the young volunteers deployed by ECOWAS, this second day of the Games – coordinated by the ECOWAS Centre for Youth and Sport – saw initial encounters blossom into genuine bonds. Between assignments, they chat about their countries, their languages, their cultures, sport and their plans for the future. Liberia meets Nigeria, Senegal engages with Sierra Leone, Ghana exchanges views with Benin: behind the badges and uniforms, an entire West African generation is getting to know one another.

Nahoussa Robert, a young Liberian volunteer, shares her experience with a broad smile, despite an already busy morning:

“Before coming to Dakar, I was mainly thinking about the honour of representing my country, Liberia. But here, I realise that I’m also representing an entire region. Every time I help a visitor, explain something about ECOWAS or talk to a young person from another country, I feel that we’re building something bigger than ourselves,” she says

Accustomed to ECOWAS volunteer programmes, Nahoussa sees the Dakar 2026 YOG as yet another opportunity to transform West Africa’s diversity into a collective strength:

“We have different languages, cultures and backgrounds, but we share the same ambitions: peace, opportunities and a better future for us, the young people,” she declares with conviction.

The Gambia is also well represented by Cheick Benga, a young volunteer who has travelled to Dakar specifically to play his part in making history at the first YOGs to be held in Africa. For him, the commitment goes far beyond the operational side:

“What I’ve learnt from this experience is that volunteering isn’t just a logistical task. It’s a way of making a difference for your community and your region. In Dakar, I see young people from several countries working together, learning together and supporting one another. This is exactly the West Africa we want to build.”

With infectious optimism, Cheick expresses the hope that this mobilisation of young volunteers from different West African countries will inspire other young Gambians and, more broadly, young people from ECOWAS member states to get involved: “If a young person looks at me today and thinks to themselves that they too can serve, learn and grow, then our presence here will already have made an impact. ”

Through these young volunteers, ECOWAS is making the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games much more than just a sporting event: a platform for meeting, learning, dialogue and social cohesion.

Their commitment illustrates the organisation’s belief that young people are not merely the beneficiaries of regional policies, but also key drivers of integration, solidarity and human development in West Africa.

The deployment of these volunteers forms part of the partnership between ECOWAS and the Senegalese National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSS), which includes, in particular, the provision of support for twenty-four young volunteers from member states, deployed at the Games’ venues to provide reception, guidance, supervision and logistical support.