A publication documenting best practices on child protection within major sporting events will be presented by Unicef Brazil and partners at Bayt Qatar at the ongoing Rio Olympics.
The results of the publication, ‘Agenda for Convergence: mega sporting events and children’s rights protection and adolescents in Brazil’, will be presented to a special audience at Bayt Qatar today.
The presentation is taking place during the two-day “Power of Sports for Development: Building a Better Future for Children” forum, which is being hosted at British House and Bayt Qatar until today, gathering international experts, children’s rights organisations and government officials.
The publication documents Unicef Brazil and its partners’ work encouraging the prevention of violence towards young people during mega events, according to a press statement.
Beginning in 2011, the initiative Agenda for Convergence involved government organisations, NGOs and child protection experts from across Brazil with the aim of helping young people during the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup and 2014 FIFA World Cup that took place in Brazil.
Several child protection actions implemented in Brazil were developed in partnership with Save the Dream, an initiative of the International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) and Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC).
Lessons learnt during major sporting events are being applied during the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and will serve as reference point to be applied within the next host countries.
The forum is the result of a special partnership between Unicef, Save the Dream, Bayt Qatar and British House.
As part of the event, high-profile experts and athletes are coming together to discuss issues of child protection during major sport events. They include Ana Starling, National Secretariat for the Promotion of Rights of the Child; Irina Bacci, ombudsman for human rights and Dial 100 hotline director; and Cristiane Santana, undersecretary of Social Development and Human Rights of the City of Rio de Janeiro, among others.
The event will also hear from HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani, president of QOC; Gary Stahl, Unicef representative to Brazil; and Massimiliano Montanari, executive director of Save the Dream.
In addition to the new report, the forum will serve to promote the use of the app, Proteja Brasil, during the Olympic Games. A new promotional video, ‘Your hands can change stories’, will be launched to encourage people to download the app Proteja Brasil.
The application is free to download and aims to encourage people to report violations against children’s rights in Brazil to the relevant authorities and empower members of the public to play an active role for the protection of children against violence.
Save the Dream has raised awareness on the importance of child protection through the organisation of a football match at Bayt Qatar involving legends such as Cafu, David Trezeguet, Christian Karembeu and Zico.
Proteja Brasil features will be presented during the conference through the panel, “Technology, Media and Child Rights”. The panel will also address the initiative Dial 100 hotline – a human rights reporting tool maintained by the Brazilian federal government and Team Unicef – Get Active for Children – a Unicef engagement campaign that combines sports, technology and children’s rights.
Several child protection actions implemented in Brazil have been developed in partnership with Save the Dream, an initiative of the ICSS and QOC.
