Road to Johannesburg: Sport for Conflict Resolution

In the build up to the Beyond Sport Summit 2014 in Johannesburg, South Africa we are going to profile the shortlisted projects category by category. In this edition we are focusing on the shortlisted projects for the Sport for Conflict Resolution award.

This award is for projects that use sport to address key issues in areas affected by pre-, current, or post-conflict situations and/or communities considered to be at peace, but suffering from high levels of violence through criminal activity or local cultural/ethnic tension. These projects target, involve or engage people from various backgrounds that have been involved in/affected by conflict. The projects themselves have lasting effects on the wider community beyond the programme itself.

The Shortlisted projects are:

 Crossborder Peace Building Through Sports – Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation – Kenya

Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation was established in 2003 by Tegla Loroupe, a 3 time world half-marathon champion, a 2 time world marathon record holder, amongst several other national and international titles.

Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation is one of the leading organisations using sport for peace in East Africa. The organisation brings youth from communities in conflict zones to compete in Athletics. Sport is used to increase frequency of interaction between communities, facilitate discussions on peace and bring together leaders to engage in advocacy for peace and development. 

The underlying vision is to promote peaceful relations, lives and resilience of poor people in Africa through sports.

Maré Unida (Maré United) – Luta Pela Paz (Fight For Peace) – Brazil

Luta Pela Paz (Fight for Peace) uses boxing & martial arts combined with education and personal development to realise the potential of young people in communities that suffer from crime and violence.

Luta pela Paz operates in Complexo da Maré, a complex of 17 favelas in Rio de Janeiro, which is dominated by openly armed rival drug factions. Maré has undergone decades of violent territorial dispute between community based and openly armed rival drug factions, and although only a minority of young people are engaged in this problem, all young people growing up in Maré are directly affected.

To tackle this issue Maré Unida set up two satellite academies to unite young people living in opposing communities and facilitate cohesion between citizens. Using boxing and martial arts combined with education and personal development these sports attract young people to the project and serve to channel their aggression, transforming it into positive energy through teamwork, self-confidence, healthy competition and respect for the rules, opposing the excitement gangs, street crime and the drug trade offer them.

Move This World – Move This World  Inc. – United States

Move This World (MTW) is a non-profit that transforms conflict, violence and bullying in schools and communities through dance and creative movement. MTW empowers individuals with self and social awareness so they have the tools to be empathetic in their interactions with others, and to act as change agents in their communities.

Their hallmark program is an innovative, evidence-based, common core aligned curriculum engaging teachers, administrators and students from Pre-Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade in creative-based somatic activities that promote empathy, mediation skills, diversity appreciation, anger management, and conflict transformation. In this way, MTW fosters cumulative skill building that grows with the individual, and produces measurable impact. Using this holistic, physical approach, MTW engages students, families, educators, administrators, and communities with targeted programs that promote social change through the art of expression.

Sport4Youth and Peace – Sports Sans Frontiérs – Serbia

The Sport4Youth project is directed to Kosovo's youth and aims at reducing discrimination by providing spaces and opportunities that bring together ethnic communities through sport. The tensions between the different ethnic communities of Kosovo are still high. This is particularly true for the youth in Kosovo. Youngsters from different ethnic groups have very rarely meet their peers from other communities and for most of them, they don't even share a common language. They view each other with a great deal of distrust and prejudice.

Sport Sans Frontiers is acting as a catalyst for dialogue and youth empowerment. Perceived as a neutral organisation, it uses sport to reach 6 communities (Albanian, Ashkali, Bosniak, Roma, Serb and Turk) and to develop interethnic activities.

Almost once a month, volunteers are involved into multi-ethnic events: trainings, run4peace, summer camp, joint events, anti-discrimination day.

Volunteers organized weekly sport and inclusive activities for the children of their localities.Thanks to the trust created between the volunteers and the parents, children are also regularly involved in multi-ethnic sport events.