daniel chigunweCollin Matiza
Sports Editor
OVER 1 000 people participated in the inaugural AUSC Region 5 Walk for Life in the city of Livingstone on Saturday.
The 5km walking event was graced by three Zambian Ministers led by Elvis Nkandu, the Minister of Youth, Sports and Arts.
He was accompanied by his three counterparts being Minister of Southern Province, Credo Nanjuwa, Minister of Muchinga Province Harry Sikazwe and Minister of Eastern Province Peter Phiri.
The Walk for Life is a Region 5 programme meant to promote a culture of physical activity and exercise among citizens as part of the contribution of sport towards attainment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The event, which ran under the theme, “Stop Gender Based Violence” and was supported by the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sport (NIF), is directly linked to The Association For International Sports For All (TAFISA) World Walking Day as well as the UNESCO Fit for Life concept.
The event was held in the month of September which has been declared the Region 5 month of commemorating Sport for Persons with Disability (SPWD). The rest of the Region 5 Member Countries were expected to be hosting similar events in their respective countries concurrently targeting a minimum of one thousand participants in each country.
This was meant to culminate in the region reaching out to a minimum of 10 000 participants physically involved in the Walk for Life.
Over 1 200 participants drawn from schools, colleges, government ministries and departments as well as members of the public and civic society all thronged the Livingstone City Post Office.
Some delegates from nine other Region 5 Member Countries and international partners took part in the event, giving it a true international flavour.
Participants were engaged in aerobics and Zumba dance, before embarking on the walk which was flagged off by Nkandu at exactly 6am. The exuberant participants who were led by a Brass band and drum majorettes, brought the city of Livingstone to a stand-still as the message against gender-based violence was amplified boldly in Zambia’s Tourist Capital.
Speaking during the event’s closing ceremony, Zambia Minister of Sport, Youth and Arts, Nkandu, highlighted the importance of engendering a culture of physical activity and exercise among citizens.
“The Walk for Life draws inspiration from such global agendas as the UNESCO Fit for Life, The Association of International Sports For All (TAFISA) World Walking Day, African Union Agenda 2063 Moonshot number six, that of Africa’s citizens being more empowered and productive as well as African Union Sports Policy for Sustainable Development among others. Back home, the Walk for
Life directly contributes towards attainment of the 8th National Development Plan’s intervention on Human and Social development,” Nkandu said.
Speaking on the margins of the event in Livingstone, Stanley Mutoya of Zimbabwe, the AUSC Region 5 chief executive officer, applauded the government of Zambia though the Ministry of Sports, Youth and Arts for having collaborated with Region 5 in hosting the event, adding that plans were underway to make this an annual event.
“We are delighted that we have been able to see the inaugural event successfully hosted by Zambia in the Tourist city of Livingstone,” Mutoya said.
“We are working closely with Zambia to grow this event into a global showpiece that will directly contribute towards increasing tourist inflows into the country and Livingstone city in particular”, he added.
Members of the Region 5 are Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Online Reporter