Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games: Senegal faces its digital challenge

A sporting event that showcases technological ambition

The 2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games offer Senegal exceptional international visibility. But their significance extends far beyond sports facilities and the performances of young athletes. Organising an international event of this scale involves coordinating a wide range of systems: accreditation management, communications, audiovisual broadcasting, ticketing, results processing, security, transport and the flow of information. In other words, we need to run a complex digital ecosystem simultaneously, with high standards of availability, speed and security. That is precisely what makes these Games interesting from an IT perspective. They serve as a barometer of Senegal’s ability to integrate technology into complex operations. A high-performance network in a stadium is not enough to demonstrate a country’s digital maturity. What matters is the ability to maintain services, manage incidents, protect data and coordinate infrastructure across multiple sites. The Youth Olympic Games are therefore not merely a showcase for technology. They are a test of the alignment between national digital ambitions and actual operational capabilities.

The national cloud: digital sovereignty or a new form of dependence?

The establishment of a national cloud infrastructure in conjunction with the Youth Olympic Games, in partnership with Sénégal Numérique SA and Alibaba Cloud, is one of the most interesting aspects of this transformation. The project is based, in particular, on the Apsara Stack solution, which is designed to provide hosting and data processing capabilities on an on-premises infrastructure. On paper, the benefits are clear: having national IT resources, hosting certain strategic applications in Senegal and developing local expertise in cloud computing. However, it is important to distinguish between two concepts that are often confused: local hosting and digital sovereignty. Hosting data within the country does not necessarily mean having full control over all the technology used. Sovereignty also entails controlling access, encryption keys, security policies, backups, maintenance operations and the expertise required to manage the infrastructure. The issue therefore goes deeper than the location of the servers: who actually has the capacity to operate, secure, maintain and upgrade this infrastructure without being overly reliant on an external service provider? The technology partnership may prove to be a useful step. However, its true success will be measured by the ability of the Senegalese teams to gradually take control of these environments. This is where a significant part of the country’s digital future is being shaped.

Telecommunications: performance isn’t measured solely by 5G

The Youth Olympic Games also highlight another issue: the quality of telecommunications infrastructure. The simultaneous presence of thousands of people, video streaming, file sharing and business communications place significant strain on networks. The expansion of 4G, 5G and fibre-optic networks announced by Sonatel is therefore appropriate. However, we must avoid reducing digital performance to the mere availability of the latest technologies. 5G alone does not guarantee quality of service. An infrastructure may be equipped with modern technologies whilst still suffering from problems relating to capacity, coverage, transmission or redundancy. True performance depends on the entire chain: access network, fibre, routing equipment, interconnection, power supply, monitoring and field teams. The Youth Olympic Games provide an opportunity to put these elements to the test in a particularly demanding environment. But there is another question worth asking: will the improvements made bring lasting benefits to communities outside the competition venues? If the additional capacity disappears once the event is over or remains concentrated in a few areas, its national impact will be limited. The challenge, therefore, is to turn investment in events into a lasting improvement in connectivity.

Cyber security: the link that can no longer be overlooked

The more an event relies on IT systems, the greater its exposure to cyber threats. Management platforms, user accounts, Wi-Fi networks, ticketing systems and cloud infrastructure are all areas that need to be protected. A cyberattack does not necessarily have to target the organisers directly in order to disrupt operations. A compromised supplier, an exposed administrator account or a poorly configured infrastructure may be enough to cause a serious incident. The cybersecurity exercises organised in the run-up to the Games show that this aspect has been incorporated into the preparations. However, a one-off exercise is not enough to ensure the resilience of an information system. There is a need for continuous monitoring mechanisms, rigorous management of identities and privileges, tested backups, incident recovery procedures and effective coordination between technical teams. Security must also take users into account. The thousands of connections generated by an international event provide fertile ground for fake Wi-Fi networks, phishing campaigns and identity theft attempts. The Youth Olympic Games thus serve as a reminder that cybersecurity is not just a matter for specialists. It is also a matter of governance and digital culture.

Artificial intelligence: between innovation and responsibility

Another aspect warrants attention: the use of artificial intelligence to help protect young athletes from cyberbullying. The International Olympic Committee has announced a system combining AI technologies and human moderation to detect potentially abusive content on social media. This use case illustrates a significant development: artificial intelligence is no longer used solely to automate tasks or generate content. It also plays a role in monitoring digital risks and protecting people. But this approach raises some key questions. How can detection errors be avoided? How can linguistic and cultural differences be taken into account? Who checks the system’s decisions? And how can the personal data of those concerned be protected? AI can speed up the identification of problematic content, but it must not become an autonomous authority whose decisions are accepted without human oversight. For Senegal, the challenge is also to learn from these practices in order to develop local expertise in artificial intelligence, digital moderation and data protection.

The real challenge: building a digital legacy

That is probably the most important question of these Games. Major international events often involve significant investment, but their value cannot be measured solely in terms of their duration. Cloud infrastructure that is no longer used after competitions, an upgraded network that benefits only a few facilities, or training programmes that offer no career prospects could limit the impact of these investments. Conversely, a national cloud used by public authorities, engineers capable of managing complex infrastructure, local businesses involved in technology projects, and enhanced cybersecurity systems could constitute a genuine legacy. Senegal must therefore avoid a scenario in which technologies are deployed solely to meet the requirements of an international event, only to be gradually abandoned or underutilised thereafter. This requires a post-Games strategy: sharing infrastructure, retaining skills, creating opportunities for local businesses and evaluating the results achieved. Senegalese start-ups, engineering schools, universities and IT companies must be able to benefit from this momentum. Digital transformation is not built on equipment alone. It relies on people who are capable of designing, managing, securing and developing it.

Senegal must now move from demonstration to mastery

The 2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games offer the country a rare opportunity to showcase its technological capabilities on the international stage. However, it would be premature to regard the deployment of modern infrastructure as definitive proof of digital sovereignty or IT maturity. True success will be measured over the long term: the availability of infrastructure after the Games, local control over the systems, data security, skills development and economic benefits for Senegalese businesses. The country has the opportunity to reach a new milestone. However, the investments made must be turned into permanent capacity. The YOG medals will belong to the athletes. The digital legacy, however, must remain the property of Senegal in the long term.