Sixteen African representatives are involved in the Dakar 2026 YOG young reporters scheme ©IOC

Sixteen aspiring journalists from six African countries are involved in a young reporters programme developed for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG).

Unlike previous editions of the programme, where young reporters only went into action during the YOG, the Dakar 2026 programme will also provide participants with specialised training and hands-on experience at a selection of events in the run-up to the event.

As part of their training the nine women and seven men involved, all between 18 and 24, have already taken part in their first active assignment at the Paris 2024 Mountain Bike test event from September 21 to 25.

The programme - created by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in partnership with the Association Internationale de la Presse Sportive (AIPS) and the Paris 2024 and Dakar 2026 Organising Committees - is intended to create a tangible legacy for the young generation of host country Senegal and the entire African continent.

The young reporters will participate in general and specialised face-to-face and online training provided by highly qualified professionals who will teach them the many facets of sports journalism and coverage of major events, including photography, broadcasting, reporting and social media.

Journalists involved in the Dakar 2026 YOG young reporters scheme got in some practice at the Mountain Bike Paris 2024 Test event this month ©IOC
Journalists involved in the Dakar 2026 YOG young reporters scheme got in some practice at the Mountain Bike Paris 2024 Test event this month ©IOC

While working on the Mountain Bike test event, the young reporters received face-to-face training at the Paris 2024 headquarters and on-the-ground training at the Olympic site on Colline d'Élancourt.

At the same time, a wider group of participants underwent online training.

All those involved in the programme are resident in an African country and are either journalism students or working as reporters, photographers or videographers.

Of the 16 young reporters, seven are from Senegal and five from Kenya, while Uganda, Algeria, Burkino Faso and Nigeria are represented by one each.

Uganda's representative, Absolm Hassan "Omar" Wamwayi, is currently working as a photographer at the Rugby World Cup in France, but he took a break to attend the young reporters activity in the Paris 2024 Test event.

Algeria's Bachir Mokhtari served as press officer for the National Olympic Committee during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Yaye Awa Niang, a 23-year-old from Senegal, completed an internship last year at Medi TV Africa and this year at ITV Senegal.