NAWEWE Sports Jamboree: LOYOC reviews 2025 strides, picks Tiko as 2026 host.

The choice was made public by officials of Local Youth Corner, LOYOC, the youth-led nonprofit organisation that runs the flagship initiative that has been strengthening visibility and advocacy around youth, peace, social cohesion and development through sports. This was during a press conference in Yaounde, on Friday, February 6.

Besides announcing the host city and handing over of the hosting baton, the Executive Director of LOYOC, Achaleke Christian Leke, said the presser was also to present key results, impacts and lessons learned from the 4th edition which held in the town of Bertoua in the East Region. 

“Sports for us is a tool for peace. That is why we decided to adopt a pedagogic approach to it,” Achaleke explained, noting that the approach justifies the jamboree’s six key intervention areas.

Achaleke said in the last four years, LOYOC has been able to learn through the jamboree that young Cameroonians believe in sports and its unifying component for communities. 

He also used the opportunity to salute the unceasing patronage of the Minister of Youth Affairs and Civic Education.

“It is an honour to see that State institutions provide such support and leadership when young people decide to work together,” he said. 

Achaleke also expressed gratitude to LOYOC’s partners for joining forces with the organisation to inspire and unite thousands in communities. 

Why Tiko was chosen to host 

Achaleke said Tiko beat the cities of Ebolowa in the South Region and Maroua in the Far North Region to win the hosting bid. 

This, he said, is because Tiko stood out in terms of preparedness, youth mobilisation and interest shown by elected officials and other authorities. 

“By going to the city of Tiko which is the gateway into the South West, we believe it will be an opportunity for more innovation,” he said.  

Achaleke said the innovations in the 5th edition will be to tap in the creative nature of the South West Region in terms of entrepreneurship, movie industry and others. 

“A key thing that we are also looking on is to build on our experience in terms of fostering community trust, community dialogue because as a region which has challenges in terms of security, we are hoping that it goes deeper than what we used to do,” he stated. 

He said LOYOC also hopes to “mobilise local partners who will bring indigenous processes and mechanisms to be able to respond to immediate challenges that they are facing in the localities as well as set the trend for these best practices”. 

Achaleke said this edition will also be an opportunity to “develop a national guide on how to use sports to promote social cohesion”. 

The Youth Senator of Fako, Mokoko Tanga John, who represented Tiko Mayor, Chief Peter Messoso III, said the municipality is ready for the event. 

Review of 4th edition strides 

On strides of the 4th edition, the Project Manager of NAWEWE Sports Jamboree, Mansuru Mohmukwe, said the Bertoua lap of the annual jamboree was a resounding success.

He said it pulled together over 5,000 spectators, reached 1,500 community members through different outreach programmes and campaigns, reached over 200,000 people through social media engagements and featured exhibitions from over 31 institutions.

The 4th edition, Mohmukwe revealed, led to an increased interaction between displaced and host communities, reduction in stereotypes and tension, strengthened conflict resolution mechanisms as well as awareness on peaceful election mediation among others.

In the aspect of health and wellbeing, he said 296 athletes were medically screened while 1,000 community members benefited in the areas of family planning and general health checks. 

In education and child protection, Mohmukwe said over 500 school bags were distributed to vulnerable kids and fees of 20 others paid while 20,000 exercise books were shared and over 350 households sensitised on protection and prevention of children from going to mine sites. 

Through community service, he said over 400 youth were mobilised to clean streets, markets and administrative offices and over 300 trees planted to fight climate change-related issues. 

Partners pledged continuous support  

The United Nations Peace and Development Advisor, Stean Auguste, saluted the strides of LOYOC. He pledged the UN system’s continuous support to LOYOC as a key partner in the peace building process in the country.

“National actors are best placed to marinade, cook and serve peace for everyone because the peace that is externally driven is not sustainable,” Stean said. 

On his part, the Kiye Dendi, who represented the Country Director of Plan International, pledged the organisation’s support for the youth-led actions. He said the partnership with LOYOC is a clear indication that when young people are trusted, they can be transform their communities. 

The Managing Director of COSMOS, Peter Eselecha, described NAWEWE as a strong example of what can be done through unity in driving change. 

He said his organisation is looking at stepping up support from the 3,000 books that were donated as support in the last edition.

Former Indomitable Lion, Tchoutang Bernard and renowned artiste, Magasco, all pledged to do their utmost in promoting the ideals of the jamboree as ambassadors. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3700 of Tuesday February 10, 2026