Agencies/New York
With children gravely impacted by conflict around the world, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and Save the Dream, a programme conceived to empower youth through the positive and aspirational values of sport, have announced a global partnership to enhance access to sport for young refugees.
The cooperation will work towards developing sustainable sport and educational programmes aimed at restoring hope to displaced children in affected communities. Together UNHCR and Save the Dream will promote access to sport as part of humanitarian responses and policies. Their goal is to empower local educators and create and maintain basic sport infrastructure to allow young refugees the opportunity to participate in sport.
“We work daily with children and youth whose lives have been shattered,” said UNHCR Director Ninette Kelley.
“This initiative promises to not only bring additional sports opportunities but ‘to cement core values of integrity, teamwork and perseverance’. These are ‘central to building connections, tolerance, and self confidence in the extremely difficult and challenging environments where many children live,” added Kelley.
The initiative was launched at a major Save the Dream event in New York City, which saw hundreds of local children participate in a variety of sports on a specially constructed soccer pitch, which was erected in the centre of Times Square.
Save the Dream ambassadors, such as Italian soccer legend and FIFA World Cup winner Alessandro del Piero, double Olympic Gold winning swimmer Penny Heyns, former Real Madrid stars Fernando Hierro, Christian Karembeu, Youri Raffi Djorkaeff and Fernando Sanz along with a host of other international sports stars, artists and musicians, were on hand to support the event and raise awareness of the role of sport in the field of youth empowerment.
As a first step, the two organisations will work closely on setting up sport academies, developing sport facilities and distributing equipment in the Republic of Djibouti, which has seen a substantial influx of refugees fleeing the neighbouring war-torn countries of Somalia and Yemen.
As part of its 22 Million Dreams project, Save the Dream and UNHCR will also develop community-based sports activities that are accessible to all children and youth living in the refugee camps to enhance youth skills and boost wellbeing.
Mohamed Hanzab, president of the International Centre for Sport Security, who established Save the Dream in order to promote and protect the core values of sport for young people around the world, said: “Access to sport is not a luxury; it is a right. It is a right for all, including those who, due to circumstances beyond their control, would benefit most from being able to participate. We are delighted to be working with UNHCR on this important project and would like to thank them for the considerable knowledge and expertise they are providing. With their support, we are determined to achieve our mission to inspire hope in young refugees through sport.”
Save the Dream executive director Massimiliano Montanari, said: “Sport is a tool to promote education and inter-cultural dialogue among youth, regardless of socio-economic conditions. Our partnership with the UNHCR will be crucial to strengthen our contribution to protecting dreams and opportunities for youth through the power of sport’s values, especially where these opportunities are jeopardised by violence, abuse, discrimination and conflict.”
UNHCR Director Ninette Kelley and Massimiliano Montanari.
