Sport for Tomorrow organised the third edition of "UNDOKAI" in Malawi

Sport for Tomorrow (SFT) has hosted "UNDOKAI" for the third year in a row in Malawi. The Consortium members of SFT have been supporting for education, human development, creating a sense of solidarity and overcoming social problems, through sports. The "UNDOKAI" is a Japanese-style sports festival where several groups compete in various sports. In Japan, each school from kindergarten to high school organises "UNDOKAI" every year as part of school education, aimed at improving physical capabilities as well as cultivating cooperation, solidarity and unity through team sports.

This Japanese style "UNDOKAI" in Malawi has been supported jointly by the Japan Sport Council and the Japan Overseas Cooperative Association (JOCA), which provided opportunities for exercise to children and adults and promoted the Olympic and Paralympic Movement in the region.

This year the "UNDOKAI" was held in the capital city of Lilongwe on 11th November. Approximately 1,200 children from elementary schools near the venue participated and competed in events such as sprint and tug-of-war. Also, JOCA started to organise a training programme for trainers along with the "UNDOKAI" from last year. This programme supports the Malawi people to hold ongoing "UNDOKAI" themselves.

Through the SFT programme in total, the "UNDOKAI" was held in 27 countries, and about 40,000 people so far participated in the sports festival. As the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games are approaching , SFT Consortium members will continue to organise the "UNDOKAI" around the world as many children as possible can experience the values of sports from the "UNDOKAI".

For further inquiries, please contact:

Secretariat of Sport for Tomorrow Consortium

Email：satoshi.ogawa@jpnsport.go.jp

About the Sport for Tomorrow Programme:

The Sport for Tomorrow programme is one of the Japanese government’s commitments to leveraging the power of sport and further promoting the Olympic and Paralympic movements to create a brighter future for people throughout the world. The programme aims to implement a variety of sporting events and activities that will engage over ten million people in over 100 countries spanning a seven-year period, culminating in 2020. This will enable Japan to achieve its objectives of providing assistance to developing countries, training future sports leaders at new international sports academies, and protecting both athletes and the integrity of sport by promoting global anti-doping initiatives. By 2015, the Sport for Tomorrow programme engaged some 1,096,000 worldwide people through its various activities.

About the Sport for Tomorrow Consortium:

The Sport for Tomorrow Consortium was launched in August 2014 in order to align the concerned organisations in both the public and private sectors with a common vision. Chaired by representatives of the Japan Sports Agency, the newly established government agency within the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), the consortium’s Steering Committee is made up of key members of the Japanese sporting community with the remit of making the optimal use of existing resources. The Japan Sport Council serves as the consortium’s secretariat.

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