IOC HIGHLIGHT THE POWER OF SPORT ON IDSDP 2016
Young people involved in a sport project that works with residents of a deprived region of Rio de Janeiro have spoken of how the upcoming Olympic Games are providing extra motivation. Beyond Sport Award Winner, Fight for Peace, which combines boxing and martial arts with education to support youngsters and coaches in communities affected by crime, violence and social exclusion – was one of three projects highlighted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (6 April).
The IOC supports Fight for Peace’s academy in Maré district, which is home to a number of underprivileged favela communities, and the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in August is proving to be a source of extra inspiration. After finding new confidence thanks to the boxing programme, Jardel Lopes Da Silva says the Games are “generating hope in young people in this neighbourhood”.
“The Olympics were a great gift for us,” says Ana Caroline Belo, coordinator at Fight for Peace. “There’s the Olympic spirit, which brings the idea of unity and strength. Sport can change a pupil’s reality, especially in a poor neighbourhood like Maré.”
In 2013, the United Nations chose 6 April as the date for the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, creating an historical link to the first modern Olympic Games in Athens, which began on 6 April 1896. The day is a celebration of the power of sport to drive social change, unite people and promote a culture of peace.
One of the beneficiaries of the Fight for Peace programme will be carrying the Olympic torch ahead of the Games in August. Motivated by the struggles she faced in her daily life, Raissa Souza de Lima joined the project to learn to fight and embrace new values. She now assists in judo classes, contributing every day to the development of dozens of young people.
For another judoka, 18-year-old Keyla Rosa, Fight for Peace has become “like a second home”. From being expelled from school to being one of the centre’s pupils for the last four years, Rosa has gained a new perspective on life and is taking positive steps towards a better future.
As a student at Fight for Peace for two years, Maria Do Socorro De Melo has learnt to control herself and feel calmer. “I was always very explosive,” she says. “I would defend myself by being aggressive.”
“I think that we should promote peace every day. You feel the difference of being at peace, of not having to wake up every day thinking about how to harm someone or thinking that someone’s going to harm you.”
Alongside the Fight for Peace project the IOC showcased two other inspiring initiatives to celebrate the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace. In Rwanda, the organisation Football for Hope, Peace and Unity, founded by former footballer Eric Murangwa, is using sport and football to promote social change and reconciliation.
Another project, Stop War Start Tennis, is the creation of a successful tennis doubles team, Rohan Bopanna from India and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi from Pakistan. The campaign helps victims of landmines and other weapons of war in past and present conflict zones resume an active lifestyle.