SUCCESSFUL BEYOND SPORT SUMMIT AND AWARDS 2014 COMES TO A CLOSE IN JOHANNESBURG

The annual Beyond Sport Summit and Awards wrapped up on Thursday 30^th October in Johannesburg after the three-day event welcomed local and international guests, delegates and media. Designed as a festival of insight and innovation, and themed around youth leadership, this year’s Summit was fuelled with new ideas on how to tackle development and best practice in utilising sport for social change around the world.

"The purpose of this Summit is to give individuals and organisations an opportunity to learn from each other as they take their various projects forward," said Beyond Sport Founder, Nick Keller.

"We believe we have again achieved that objective, and we hope our guests will be able to utilise what they have learned from each other, and our speakers who offered a wealth of knowledge, as they return to their various communities and countries to continue their good work.

"We would like to thank everyone who joined us for the three-day Summit and the Beyond Sport Awards."

The global Summit, held in South Africa for the second time, showcased some of Johannesburg’s most prominent development projects. Guests were given the opportunity to visit local communities throughout Johannesburg and learn the ways in which their specific initiatives have had a positive impact on the lives of local people. Community site visits included the Diepsloot Mountain Bike Academy, which won the Johannesburg Impact Award, Grass Root Soccer, Fight with Insight, the UNICEF Sport Development programme and the Royal Bafokeng Jr. NBA programme.

Day two of the Summit took place at the Nike Football Training Centre in Soweto, which was transformed into a hub of physical and educational activity to showcase the best in class sport for social change programmes. Initiatives such as Beyond Cricket, hosted by Cricket South Africa and KFC took to the pitch to engage local children and Beyond Sport guests with their unique project, which uses cricket to implement positivity and development amongst the youth of South Africa.

Day two also saw former Bafana Bafana captain Lucas Radebe, former Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs right back Jimmy Tau, former Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Brian Baloyi and former Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Mark Fish, along with 20 children from local Soweto schools take to the pitch to recreate the most fiercely contests match in African football, the Soweto Derby.

The Summit concluded on day three with a detailed programme of panel discussions and interviews with key players in the sports industry to discuss the role that sport can play in bringing about positive social change. Speakers included cricket superstar Graeme Smith, SuperSport presenter Carol Tshabalala and Vice President and Managing Director of NBA Africa, Amadou Gallo Fall.

The Summit was wrapped up with the prestigious annual Beyond Sport Awards, supported by Sport Relief, which recognised nine organisations, projects and corporates from around the world for their ongoing contributions towards social and health development.

The Beyond Sport Summit and Awards was held in association with global partners Barclays, Time and UNICEF.