Over a thousand sport enthusiasts took part in Europe Run&Walk 2024 edition organised by EU Delegation in Zambia. EU Ambassador Karolina Stasiak and Minister of Youth, Sport and Arts Elvis Nkandu welcomed the positive trend of healthy lifestyle and embracing sport and physical activity in Zambia, and led by example together with other Ministers and EU Member States Ambassadors as they joined runners on the 5km or 10km routes. The event promoted the EU motto United in diversity and symbolically linked to Paris Olympic games with participation of Zambian athletes hopeful for Olympic medals.

Europe Run&Walk was the EU Delegation event organised in the framework of Festival of European Cultures – a series of cultural, social, art and sport events hosted by resident EU Member States Embassies throughout the Europe Month of May. Just as the Europe Run&Walk route passed by EU Embassies in Lusaka, the Europe Month experience led the audience to discover a variety of different aspects of Europe and its many cultures and experiences. From Dante Allighieri’s Inferno to German classical music, the life of James Joyce and his Ulysses, to award winning Finnish movie and immortal Swedish music hits presented by Zambian artists. The sport success of Women Football team of Marseille which resonates so well with the success of Zambian Copper Queens qualified for the Olympics for the first time in history and opens up a discussion of women in professional sport and the sacrifices it requires, just as it did in the past and captured in the story of famous Czech Olympian Emil Zatopek. The rich programme of the Festival brought varied audiences to this journey of discovery and European impressions, and was a huge success.

The festivities were launched on 9 May with the Europe Day reception for more than 300 partners, hosted by Ambassador Stasiak and attended by 5 Ministers of the Government of Zambia. The focus of the evening was Youth empowerment and inclusion – symbolically visualised in youth art pieces created during the evening. EU Delegation runs a year-long campaign on gender and youth empowerment “Count Me In”, through which we give voice and platform to youth activists and raise awareness on the role of youth in community, professional or public life.

Visit https://themediagarage.pixieset.com/eurunwalk24/ for the EU Run and Walk 2024 event photos.