UNAMID lends its support to National School Competition

El Fasher, 24 Dec 2009 – UNAMID, in collaboration with UNICEF, has extended its support to the people of North Darfur as they prepare to host the 21st National School Competition. The competition will commence on 31 December 2009 and is the first time that North Darfur hosts the event.

The two-week tournament will bring together over 7,000 secondary school students from all 25 of Sudan’s states to El Fasher to compete in intellectual and athletic competitions. Under the theme “Peace-building and Reconciliation,” the event is organised by the Ministry of Education, with significant support from UNAMID and UNICEF.

UNAMID supports this competition in hope that it will provide an infrequent opportunity for young people from all over Sudan to meet across ethnic groups, make friends, dialogue and break stereotypes. The Mission’s objective is to encourage youth to commit to peace in Sudan.

To help ensure the success of the competition, UNAMID and UNICEF are jointly providing assistance to the Government of Sudan in the form of logistics, security and equipment according to their expertise.

In the run-up the event, UNAMID has to date loaned heavy machinery and engineers towards the construction of three roads and an accommodation camp, which will hold an estimated some of the competing students. UNAMID will be providing 55 vehicles with drivers to transport participants to and from the various events. Furthermore, a fire truck and five ambulances, staffed with UNAMID medical personnel, will be on 24-hour standby for the duration of the competition.