AUSC/GIZ S4DA technical collaboration ends on a high..
The 2-and-a-half-year technical collaboration between the African Union Sports Council (AUSC) and the GIZ S4DA (Sport for Development Africa) partnership officially concluded at the end of June 2025.
This follows an agreement between the two organisations that was developed with the purpose of strengthening sport for development initiatives across the African Union Sports Councilโs ecosystem.
Major achievements that form part of this collaboration include the instituting of an organisational needs assessment that was initiated, deep diving into where the AUSC was lacking in terms of organisational capacity. This also prompted the development of a AUSC strategic plan 2024-2028 which is aligned with the broader African Union strategy, as well as the creation of a monitoring and evaluation system which will allow the AU to evaluate and showcase the contribution of sports to the Agenda 2063 โ the Africa we Want, at Member State, Regional and Continental levels.
Another key highlight was the procurement of relevant, up to date equipment and softwares, that would allow the organisation to take up its policy and oversight role on the continent, working in collaboration with the AUSC Regions and AU Member States.
The development of numerous advocacy documents which include Safeguarding, Inclusion and Equity of Women, Youth and People with Disabilities, Gender, as well as creating relevant social media illustrations for the popularisation of the AUSC mandate and conducting sports for development activities to over 100 youths during the African Games in Accra, Ghana, are some of the major achievements that were achieved throughout the lifespan of this partnership.
Present during the farewell function were GIZ S4DA delegates led by their Cameroon Country Director, Mr. Rico Langeheine, who thanked the AUSC for this wonderful collaboration and for housing one of their Special Advisors, Mr. Jonas Sell at the offices of the AUSC throughout the collaboration.
โAfter almost 3 years working together, I can see the visible effects that our collaboration has brought to the people of Africa through sports for development initiatives and may I encourage the AUSC to continue to convince African policy makers on the power of Sports towards attaining the aspirations of Agenda 2063 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals,โ he said.
AUSC Sport Advisory Board Chairperson, Dr. Bernard Patrick Ogwel, who spoke on behalf of the AUSC Organs, also expressed similar sentiments, firstly thanking GIZ S4DA for the numerous amounts of financial and human resources they contributed towards the AUSC to see their joint action plans being obtained.
โGIZ S4DA has transformed our Secretariat through organisational development, digital initiatives, strategy planning and the M&E framework amongst others.ย We have a very clear sustainable pathway with regards to the future of our programmes, and we would sincerely like to thank GIZ for a wonderful working relationship over the past couple yearsโ.
Dr, Ogwel also thanked GIZ for their wonderful legacy project of installing a solar energy backup system at the AUSC Secretariat offices in Yaoundรฉ, which will now mitigate the electricity challenges.
