Log in 
Information
- Country
- Senegal
- LuxDev's country office
- Senegal Office
- Sector
- Education, vocationnal training and employment
- PIC 5
- 2024 - 2030
- Implementation period
- 1 October 2023 - 30 September 2027
- Total duration
- 48 months
- Total budget
- 22,311,600 EUR
- Contribution breakdown
-
- Luxembourg Government
4,300,000 EUR - UE
15,500,000 EUR - Pays-Bas
2,000,000 EUR - Suisse
511,600 EUR
The FIT ! Senegal Initiative: Supporting the employment of young people as part of the Dakar 2026 YOG
More than 300,000 young Senegalese enter the job market every year, in a country where a very high rate of young women and men are neither in employment nor in education or training (33.1% NEET among 15–34-year-olds).
In 2026, Senegal will host the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG), a first for the African continent. The Games will offer substantial economic opportunities for young people before, during and after the event.
To contribute to the legacy of the Dakar 2026 YOG, under the impetus of the Dakar 2026 Organising Committee (COJOJ) and the Senegalese Ministry of Vocational Training, Apprenticeship and Integration (MFPAI), the FIT! initiative aims to improve decent employment for young people in Senegal in all their diversity.
As part of a "Team Europe" approach involving the European Union and several of its member states, the FIT! initiative addresses the different steps in the pathway to employment for young people: orientation, training, professional integration, employment and self-employment.
LuxDev is the coordinator of this joint Team Europe initiative and is working with the operational partners to:
- create new career opportunities for young people, particularly YOG volunteers ;
- create and strengthen training programs in YOG-related professions ;
- strengthen dual training ;
- contribute to the enhancement of the image of vocational and technical training through the organization of the Olympics for Professions, Sport and Culture ;
- build sports facilities in schools using worksite – school ;
- integrate a "Sport for Development" approach and roll out an olympic, civic and sports certificate in schools.
In order to enable young people from across Senegal to benefit from the opportunities for professional integration offered by the Dakar 2026 YOG, the initiative will be deployed nationwide.
The initiative will address issues relating to gender, inclusion of people with disabilities and sustainable development, with a focus on "green jobs" and opportunities arising from the digital sector.
Young people are involved in the initiative, not only as direct beneficiaries of the activities but also as stakeholders in the reflection and implementation. This commitment on the part of the initiative's partners is embodied in the trial application of the Youth Friendly Standards.
Investing in young people and contributing to create jobs are the main objectives of this initiative.
The FIT! Senegal Initiative is driven by Senegal's Ministry of Vocational Training, Apprenticeship and Integration, the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee and the European Union. The Initiative is co-financed by the European Union, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland as part of the Team Europe approach. Agence Française de Développement (AFD), AICS (the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation), GIZ (the German Agency for International Cooperation) and LuxDev (Luxembourg Development Cooperation Agency) are working together to promote the employability of young people.
Latest news
International Day of Sport for Development and Peace
Published on 5 April 2024 By
On 6 April is celebrated the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace. As the United Nations says, “this Day presents an opportunity to recognise the positive role sport and physical activity play in communities and in people’s lives across the globe. Sport is, and continues to be, one of the most effective tools for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals”. To mark the occasion, we would like to introduce you to the FIT! Senegal Initiative, implemented by LuxDev with the Team Europe.
Senegal is without doubt a country where sporting culture is important. Many young people practise a sporting discipline every day, in the streets, on the beaches, but also in unusual places, such as pitches located in the centre of busy roads, due to the lack of local infrastructure dedicated to sport.
Picture: Comité national olympique et sportif du Sénégal
In 2026, Senegal will host the Youth Olympic Games (YOG), the first Olympic event ever organised in Africa. The International Olympic Committee shares the vision that "the Dakar 2026 YOG will be a catalyst for a sporting, social, cultural, educational and economic transformation that will create new hopes, new opportunities and confidence for young people".
With this in mind, the FIT! Senegal Initiative aims to help young people find decent and sustainable jobs, as part of the legacy of the Dakar YOG.
To help meet this challenge, LuxDev will be implementing an initiative aimed at integrating a "sport and development" approach into vocational and technical training establishments. The aim is to enable young people to develop their soft skills through sport, in order to strengthen their prospects for professional integration.
To support this approach, LuxDev, in collaboration with the Organising Committee of the Dakar 2026 YOG, will be deploying the Olympic, civic and sports certificate in schools, in particular through the Olympic values education programme. This programme consists of educational resources created by the International Olympic Committee to enable communities to develop their personality through the acquisition of new skills. The aim is to contribute to a peaceful and better world, by educating young people through sport, without discrimination of any kind, in the Olympic spirit, which demands mutual understanding, a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.
Picture: Comité national olympique et sportif du Sénégal
Other sports-related initiatives are planned as part of the FIT! Senegal Initiative, such as the construction of sports facilities in schools using the "chantier école" approach and the organisation of a trades, sport and culture competition.
The FIT! Senegal Initiative is driven by Senegal's Ministry of Vocational Training, Apprenticeship and Integration, the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee and the European Union. The Initiative is co-financed by the European Union, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland as part of the Team Europe approach. Agence Française de Développement (AFD), AICS (the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation), GIZ (the German Agency for International Cooperation) and LuxDev (Luxembourg Development Cooperation Agency) are working together to promote the employability of young people.