It will comprise sports and socio-cultural activities geared towards inculcating Olympic values and good citizenship.

The 20th edition of the holiday camp dubbed “Sports, Loisirs, Vacances” kicked off yesterday at the campus of the National institute of Youth and Sports in Yaounde with over 2500 children expected to take part.

The holiday camp to run up to August 14, 2014 will comprise sports and socio-cultural activities.

Special emphasis this year will be on inculcating the spirit of good citizenship through the assimilation of Olympic values, respect for State symbols and emblems as well as the spirit of patriotism.

According to the president of the organizing committee, Henri Tchala Owona, there will be 30 workshops during the holiday camp; 20 in sports and nine socio-cultural.

The sports workshops are in athletics, baseball and softball, basketball, boxing, dance sport, football, gymnastics, handball, judo, wrestling, bodybuilding, karate, nambudo, rugby, tennis, volleyball, table tennis, sports for all and a special workshop on Olympic values.

The socio-cultural activities comprise plastic arts, initiation to the computer, music, in-door games, decoration, theatre, visits to tourist attraction and historic sites as well as the environment and nature.

The holiday camp will be taking place at the INJS and Lycée Leclerc campuses and is opened to students of the primary, secondary and university levels within the age bracket of 4 to 25 years.

According t the initiator of the operation who also happens to be the director of INJS, Daniel Ngoa Nguele, they would have moved to extend the programme to the different regions of the country but lack the financial means to do so.

In 19 years, the holiday camp has contributed to groom talents in various sports disciplines who now evolve at the national team level or other high level competitions.

It has also produced talents in the domain of arts. Their goal, he said is to produce a new breed of athletes with a sound training who have respect for others, themselves and the nation. Athletes who are conscious they represent a nation-Cameroon and who defend it with a lot of patriotism.