Malawi National Council of Sports (MNCS) Acting Chief Executive Officer Ivy Chinangwa has been appointed Malawi’s Country Research Co-ordinator for UNESCO’s African and American Sport Mapping Programme.
Her appointment was announced during the Dakar 2026 International Conference in Senegal on Friday.
This was co-organised by the University Cheikh Anta Diop and the Senegal Ministry of Youth and Sport, in collaboration with the UNESCO Chair in Sport, Development, Peace and Onlymoic Education.
In a letter signed by Professor Marion Keim, the appointment tasks Chinangwa with a key role of promoting the development of Malawi’s sport profile with the focus of capacity building of local researchers.
“The aim of the programme is to contribute to the understanding and advancement of sport development and peace, as well as Olympic Education through highly quality research, teaching ,innovation, community engagement, enhancing new technologies, capacity building and learning as well as policy dialogue,” Professor Keim said in a statement.
The professor stressed that the programme will benefit key stakeholders in Malawi.
“[This is] including government, sport federations, Olympic, and Paralympic movement, as well as educational, teaching, and research institutions and NGOs alike,” reads part of the letter.
Chinangwa said she is excited with the challenge.
“[I] am looking forward to contributing more to the development of sport, through comprehensive research that will provide scientific answers to many challenges in various sports codes,” she said.
Chinangwa also made a presentation at the conference, where she highlighted the status of Malawi’s Sports Policy review, which she said in its final stages.
She was the first female lecturer in Sports Sciences at the Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST).
Previously, she also served as Sports Director and part-time lecturer, as well as Director of Sports and Recreation Development prior to her appointment as Acting CEO in late 2025.
By Frank Kandu
