On July 11, 2015, the first ever Olympic and Africa Day Celebrations Event was held. The event was organized by the Organizing Committee, consiting of the Malawi Olympic Committee, the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, and the National Council of Sports. Mitsubishi Corporation and Kirakusha Sotokoto from Japan sponsored the event. As part of the Sport for Tomorrow initative toward the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020, the Embassy of Japan provided cooperation and assistance for the event and hosted a reception inviting athletes, officials from government and sports organizations, and sponsors. The participants reflected and celebrated the day and developed new networks.
The program of the event included a full marathon, 800m and 1,500m paralympic races, as well as 5,000m races for juniors and vetrans. Athletes from four other countries from the region -- Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana -- joined Malawi to take part in the event. Representatives from regional sports organizations such as Confederation of Southern African National Olympic Committees (COSANOC) and AU Sports Council Region 5 also attended the event.
Japanese sponsors Mitsubishi Corporation and Kirakusha Sotokoto organized the Fun Run and the Paralympic Program, and Sydney Olympics Gold Medalist for Women's Marathon, Ms. Naoko Takahashi led the programs. Students from primary and secondary schools in Lilongwe, sports officials, and Japanese residents including Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers ran the the 6km Fun Run. Ambassador Nishioka and embassy staff members, The Hon. Grace Obama Chiumia, Minister of Youth and Sports Development, and The Hon. Ronald Chitotera, Zambian Deputy Minister of Sports also took part. The Paralympic Program, which invited students from the Lilongwe Vocational Training Center, was highly commended for shining light on the importance of assisting sports for the disabled. In addition, Mitsubishi Corporation, Kirakusha Sotokoto, and Ms. Takahashi cooperated with Japan International Cooperation Agency in Malawi to donate second-hand shoes from Japan to children in the Home of Hope, an orphanage in Mchinji, as part of the Smile Africa Project, which was previously conducted in Kenya.
At the reception hosted by the Embassy of Japan, Ambassador Nishioka spoke about the projects Japan is conducting to support Malawi as part of the Sports for Tomorrow initiative, including: the introduction of the “Grant Assistance for Cultural Grassroots Projects,” which targets cultural and sporting groups; the launching of the “Japanese Ambassador Judo and Kendo Championships,” and the dispatching of Japanese volunteers to coach Judo in the country, among others. These efforts were highly commedned by the Malawian government and sports officials who attended the reception. Ambassador Nishioka closed his remarks by thanking all the relevant stakeholders for their efforts and work to ensure that the event was a success, and wished the spirit of Olympism and sportsmanship wll continue to be promoted to create a better future for the world.
Through the event and the reception, the Embassy of Japan collaborated with the Japanese private sector's Corporate Social Responsibility program, and promoted Japan's presence in sports assistance as well as strengthened the network among those involved in sports from both Japan and Malawi. |
The start of the Fun Run
