Road to Johannesburg: Corporate of the Year

In the build up to the Beyond Sport Summit 2014 in Johannesburg, South Africa we have been profiling the shortlisted projects category by category. In this edition we are focusing on the shortlisted projects for the Corporate of the Year award.

The category celebrated for-profit businesses that use sport within their philanthropic /corporate responsibility / citizenship / social marketing programme. The businesses shortlisted show a significant commitment towards delivering social change through sport by going beyond solely monetary investment in social causes and demonstrates a broader, creative use of the company’s assets – such as employee engagement. The shortlisted corporates also show that the socially responsible efforts are aligned with the strategic objectives of the company, alongside partnerships with relevant organisations in regard to the social issue being tackled.

The Shortlisted projects are:

 3 Sisters Adventure Trekking Ltd (Nepal)

3 Sisters Adventure Trekking aims to empower women from local communities of Nepal through adventure sports tourism. They accomplish this primarily through the training of female trekking guides, serving women from disadvantaged situations and rural areas of Nepal.

The participants are trained in English and trekking related courses, allowing them to have a job and an opportunity previously inconceivable and available to women in a traditional Nepali society. We do this because we believe that in order to progress in our culture and country we need to allow our citizens equal opportunities, regardless of gender, caste, or geographic origin.

Standard Chartered Bank (UK)

Standard Chartered (SCB) has several sport-for-development initiatives which operate throughout Asia, Africa and the Middle East in communities where employees work and live.

One of their projects, Goal, uses life-skills education and sport training to empower adolescent girls, enabling them to reach their full personal and economic potential. It teaches financial literacy, health, rights and communication. It’s delivered by NGO partners in India, Nigeria, Jordan, China and Zambia. Since 2006, 20,000 girls have been reached - this year’s target is 30,000.

Kicking4Change began in September 2011 in Ghana. It is a partnership with NGO, ‘Coaches across Continents’. The three-year pilot uses football to engage disadvantaged youths, teaching them life-skills and financial literacy. Liverpool Football Club – Sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank - legends and community coaches will be involved in the delivery.

Chevrolet (Coaches Across Continents) (Global)

The ChevroletFC WHAT DO YOU #PLAYFOR? campaign partners with global NGO Coaches Across Continents (CAC) to identify social issues in communities around the world. In Bandung, Indonesia, working with local NGO Rumah Cemara, CAC designed a self-directed training programme that addressed the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS.

In Chicago, USA, working with Beyond the Ball, CAC designed a program that addressed conflict resolution and gang violence. In South Africa, working with Dreamfields, CAC has designed a programme to address social inclusion to bring black, white and coloured together on the football field. In Nagpur, India, working with Slum Football, CAC has designed a programme to address female empowerment in the slums, to give women a ‘voice and a choice’.

WHAT DO YOU #PLAYFOR? works closely with Coaches Across Continents and the chosen local implementing partner to design an adaptable long term curriculum that addresses chosen social issues and ensures locally-owned sustainability. Having previously run projects with Rumah Cemara and Slum Football, CAC are able to ensure the project addresses relevant issues based on prior research, community consultation, existing resources and social need. In other communities, topics to be addressed will be selected using similar methods.