2019 Beyond Sport Global Awards Press Release
BEYOND SPORT GLOBAL AWARDS HONORS WORLD’S BEST IN LEVERAGING SPORT FOR POSITIVE SOCIAL CHANGE
LEADING ORGANIZATIONS AWARDED MORE THAN $600K IN FUNDING
The #NoBan4Women #OpenStadiums Iranian Human Rights Campaign, Dallagio RugbyWorks and GOALS Haiti Among Those Receiving Top Nods to Further Their Efforts
New York, NY, September 13, 2019 – Amid some of the toughest competition and most innovative shortlisters efforts to date, Beyond Sport, the leading pioneer on sport for social change, announced its annual Beyond Sport Global Award winners last night at the SAP Next Gen Lab at Hudson Yards. By the end of the evening, the world’s most innovative organizations the world over were honored to further their missions as tied to achieveing the UN Global Goals.
The finalists were chosen from over 300 entries and shortlisted into seven categories and two special awards. The event also celebrated the winners of inaugural Collective Impact Awards, which were specifically designed to convene leading organizations to combine their efforts and expertise to combat Climate Action and Inequality. Altogether, the Beyond Sport Foundation with support from its partners will facilitate more than $600,000 in funding and strategic business support to help further drive the missions of these problem-solving organizations to continue to impact their communities.
“The Beyond Sport Global Awards are a wonderful insight into how sport can dramatically impact communities and individuals in such a positive way,” said Nick Keller, Founder and President, Beyond Sport. “When you step back and recognize that this work is often being done on the fringes of society, our winners, and indeed the entire shortlist, are showing that sport has a significant role to play in solving the world's greatest challenges. The grants and platform will hopefully help drive these organisations on and ensure that as a collective sport contributes in a significant way to the SDGs. Congratulations to our winners and shortlist and we are extremely grateful for the support from our judges, partners and presenters.”
Shortisters were joined by a world class line up of presenters, including: Ali and Apollo, WWE superstars; Samantha Arsenault Livingstone, Olympic Gold Medalist and Mental Health Advocate; Adam Met, Bassist for AJR and UNDP Advocate for Sustainable Development; Leilani Münter, Race car driver and Environmentalist; Chris Mosier, Hall of Fame Triathlete and Transgender Advocate and and Sierra Quitiquit, Pro Skier and Environmental Activist..
Human Rights Watch's Director of Global Initiatives, Minky Worden awarded the pinnacle award of the evening – the Sport for Human Rights Award, in partnership with the Equality League – to Iranian Stadium Ban Activists, represented by Maryam Shojaei. The efforts of this campaign by Open Stadiums to drive a global conversation on the ban of women from sports stadiums in Iran showcase the tremendous amount of education and work necessary in some communities to protect human rights.
WWE stars Ali and Apollo kickstarted the evening by awarding the Most Courageous Use of Sport Award, presented by WWE to Erika Nataly. Nataly volunteers as a coaching assistant with Fundación Tiempo de Juego, which uses sports, arts and technology as mechanisms to empower and improve the quality of life of children and adolescents at risk. After beginning to play in the organization’s youth soccer program over four years ago, Erika began to lose her hearing. Rather than stopping playing the game she loves, Erika increased her commitment to sport and to the organization by becoming a community volunteer.
Dallagio RugbyWorks received the Sport for Quality Education Award, supported by SAP. The organization’s intensive long-term skills development program is delivered over three years based on the values of rugby, through which they aim to get teenagers outside of mainstream education into sustained education, employment or training. They currently work with 70 local Alternative Provision (AP) schools across eight regions of England and Wales.
The Sport for Equality Award went to Teaming up for Social Transformation, GOALS Armenia. GOALS encourages communities to transform societal norms into equitable values. Sport enables them to push for discussions around gender equity in marriage, leadership positions, and opportunities in a way that other mechanisms don’t allow through on-field games, soccer matches, and cross-cultural events.
For its global efforts to create and sustain safe spaces, Love.fútbol proudly accepted the Sport for Sustainable Cities and Communities Award. Love.fútbol developed a model which is focused on collaboration and empowerment of local agents to conceive, plan, build, manage and ultimately redefine football pitches as centers of community and platforms for sustainable social change. This framework has been replicated over 13 years in 39 different communities.
New this year, were the two collective impact awards – the Sport for Climate Action Collective Impact Award presented by the Swedish Post Code Foundation and the Sport for Reduced Inequalities Collective Impact Award presented by The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation. While the winners were announced last month, these organizations were honored at the event for their collective efforts and will collaborate throughout the next year to drive change.
Other winners included: Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka, and their work with Qhubeka Charity mobilizing people in Africa with bicycles, picked up the Corporate Campaign or Initiative in Sport for Good; GOALS Haiti received the Sport for Health and Well-being Award; Peace is my Utopia won the the Sport for Peace and Social Justice for their efforts servingchildren and adolescents in conditions of extreme poverty; the Award for Sport for Decent Work and Economic Growth was brought home by the Careers of Meaning Through Sport campaign from Sport Dans La Ville.
The Beyond Sport Foundation celebrates, supports, raises awareness and provides funding for organizations using sport to help make the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) a reality. It goes beyond the traditional grant-giving models by not just funding projects, but providing tools to help organizations strengthen and grow. Since 2009, the Beyond Sport Foundation has provided more than $2.1M in funds and distributed more than $8M in long-term strategic support to more than 300 organizations using sport to address social issues around the world. beyondsport.org
The Beyond Sport Global Awards were made possible by our Collective Impact Award Partners The DICK's Sporting Goods Foundation and the Swedish Postcode Foundation, along with official Supporters Chivas Regal, Comic Relief, Laureus Sport for Good and ESPN, Category Partners WWE, SAP and the Equality League, Business Support Package Partners GivenGain, TrustLaw and Upshot and Official Trophy Supplier, Cristaux.
Click here to view the Official Shortlisters video
CONTACT :
Karen Asare, [email protected], 646-854-5535 (o) 917-208-9583 (c)
Nicole Anastasi, [email protected], 704-796-9992
###
Full List of Winners
Most Courageous Use of Sport Award, presented by WWE
- Erika Nataly
Corporate Campaign or Initiative in Sport for Good
- Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka
Sport for Decent Work and Economic Growth Award
- Careers of Meaning Through Sport, Sport Dans La Ville
Sport for Gender Equality Award
- Teaming up for Social Transformation, GOALS Armenia
Sport for Quality Education Award, supported by SAP
- Dallaglio RugbyWorks
Sport for Sustainable Cities and Communities Award
- love.fútbol
Sport for Peace and Social Justice Award
- Peace is my Utopia
Sport for Health and Well-being Award
- Aktive Jèn Yo, GOALS Haiti
Sport for Reduced Inequalities Collective Impact Award
- Soccer Without Borders
- MVP Youth Baseball & Softball Program from Lost Boyz Inc.
- The Sparkle Effect
- Urban Dove
- The Pass from Kids in the Game
Sport for Cimate Action Collective Impact Award
- MANTA Sail Training Centre
- Protect Our Winters
- World Sailing
- AEG 1EARTH
- Youth Service Organization
- I AM WATER
Sport for Human Rights Award, in partnership with Equality League
- Iranian Stadium Ban Activists
ABOUT BEYOND SPORT:
Founded in 2008, Beyond Sport is the leading global force for sustainable social change through sport, instilling insight, energy and impact in communities around the world. The organization does this through convening, supporting and advising the worlds of sport, business, government and development on how sport can be used as a tool to achieve both social and business objectives. Beyond Sport’s global network encompasses 2800 organizations in more than 150 countries using sport as a catalyst for change. beyondsport.org