© UNICEF/PERÚ/2004/Sergio Pérez
© UNICEF/BOLIVIA/2005/Eva Sanchez
Produced by:
UNICEF Regional Office
for Latin America and the Caribbean
Morse Avenue, Bldg. 131
Ciudad del Saber,
P.O.Box 0843-03045
Panama, Republic of Panama
Tel.: (507) 301-7400
Fax: (507) 317-0258
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://www.unicef.org/lac
http://www.unicef.org
ISBN-13: 978-92-806-4114-1
ISBN-10: 92-806-4114-X
All rights reserved. 2007
Cover Photo: © UNICEF/HQ00-0382/Alejandro Balaguer
FOREWORD
All around the world, sport is improving health - both mind and body. It is teaching
important life lessons about respect, leadership and cooperation. It is promoting
equality for all and bridging divides among people.
UNICEF is now incorporating the power and potential of sport, recreation and play
into its work in countries around the world.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, we are developing partnerships with all sectors
of society, from governments, to the sports world, to civil society in all its diversity,
to get girls and boys on to sports fields and playgrounds, and to educate children
and their families about the benefits of physical activity.
We have been using sports as a communications vehicle, as both a social
mobilization tool to gather communities for particular campaigns and as a
powerful means to raise awareness about key messages at national or local sports
tournaments and events.
Within this context, UNICEF has developed partnership agreements with the major
global sports federations (CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, West Indies Cricket Board,
Olympic Committee and others) mobilizing these organizations to not only highlight
UNICEF messages and communications activities at their sports events, but also as
programmatic partners with long-term, programme-driven agreements in selected
countries.
Our vision is clear.
We need to guarantee children’s right to play.
Nils Kastberg
UNICEF Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean
3
© UNICEF/BELIZE/2005/Cesar Villar
THE RIGHT
TO PLAY
“The effort aims to promote non-violence, tolerance
and peace, along with the benefits of sport for
development. Sport teaches not just important values
such as teamwork, fairness and communication, but also
interdependence. All of these concepts are at the heart of
development.”
Ann M. Veneman, UNICEF Executive Director
4
On football fields in Argentina, basketball courts in Venezuela and baseball
diamonds in Panama, children play. They play in Brazilian ‘Favelas’, on Peruvian
highlands and in Jamaican backyards. Be it organized tournaments with referees,
neighbourhood games on the street or spontaneous play until the sun goes down,
sports and play form an important part of children’s lives. And far from being a
luxury, it is their right.
According to article 31 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child “States
Parties recognize the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and
recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely
in cultural life and the arts.” Not only do children have the right to play but States
must also “encourage the provision of appropriate and equal opportunities for
cultural, artistic, recreational and leisure activity.”
Sport -from play and physical activity to organized competition- teaches core values
such as cooperation and respect. It improves health and reduces the likelihood of
disease. And it brings individuals and communities together, bridging cultural or
ethnic divides. Sport is also an effective way to reach children and adolescents who
are excluded and discriminated against, offering them companionship, support,
and a sense of belonging.
© UNICEF/REP. DOMINICANA/2005/Rd Jimani
Low cost, universally understood and politically neutral, sports can be a potent
means of promoting peace and development. Equally important, it allows children
and adolescents to have fun. Therefore, sports are an integral part of many UNICEF
programmes throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
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© UNICEF/COROZAL/Cesar Villar
6
Spreading Knowledge about HIV/AIDS
In Latin America and the Caribbean, over 2.1 million persons are living with
HIV/AIDS. Those between the ages of 15 and 24 are particularly affected: 740,000
are currently living with HIV/AIDS and 750,000 children have lost one or both
parents to AIDS - an increase from 54,000 in 1990.
While young people are the most affected, they also have the capacity to halt the
AIDS epidemic. Nevertheless, many children and adolescents in the region continue
to be denied their right to information on how to protect themselves. Therefore, it
is imperative to explore new and innovative ways to deliver prevention messages,
and help young people develop the skills necessary to put their knowledge into
practice.
Sport organizations are uniquely poised to spread knowledge and prevention
messages about HIV/AIDS to young people. HIV/AIDS education can be provided
during practices, through coaching sessions, during events and at half-times.
By participating in sport, adolescents develop a sense of ownership of and respect
for their bodies, encouraging them to delay sexual activity or practice safe sex.
Inclusion of people living with HIV/AIDS in sport programmes can contribute to the
elimination of HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination.
Furthermore, sports participation can provide children orphaned and affected by
AIDS a safe and supportive space where they can feel a sense of belonging and be
protected from exploitation and harm.
• In Honduras, the programme Football for Life promotes HIV/AIDS prevention
and protects young people between 7 and 18 years of age from sexual
exploitation and child labour. Older adolescents volunteer as role models
for younger football players, and each Saturday afternoon a match is
accompanied by a skit, discussion or event that highlights the dangers of
HIV/AIDS and the importance of protecting children from harm.
• Comvida (Comunicación para la Vida - Communication for Life), an
organization supported by UNICEF and the Honduran Ministry of Health,
conducts theatrical presentations during half times at football matches across
Honduras. Football players named Knowledge, Abstinence, Fidelity and
Condom take on Infected Syringe, Drugs, Infidelity, Promiscuity, HIV and AIDS.
Played out before a packed stadium and with millions watching from home,
the show dramatizes how HIV spreads while demonstrating how individuals
can protect themselves.
• Thanks to an agreement between UNICEF and the Paraguayan P.E. Teachers’
Association, parks and squares in ten Paraguayan towns have become
the scene for sport and recreational activities. As part of the activities, the
10,000 participating children and adolescents receive information about HIV
prevention, human rights and building a culture of tolerance and respect.
• In 2005, in cooperation with the Panamanian Football Association, UNICEF
educated all participants in the national U-15 tournament on HIV prevention.
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• In July 2005, Argentinean basketballer Manu Ginóbili and players from the
National Basketball Association (NBA) visited children and adolescents
living with HIV/AIDS, receiving treatment at a Buenos Aires hospital and also
inaugurated a public school library. For the second consecutive year, UNICEF
has been responsible for the life skills workshops on HIV/AIDS and Health
Promotion at the NBA’s annual “Basketball Without Borders” camp with the
region’s top 50 young players. NBA players also participate in these events
and are working closely with UNICEF, including Adonal Foyle (Golden State
Warriors/St. Vincent and the Grenadines); Etan Thomas (Washington Wizards/
Grenada); and Samuel Dalembert (Philadelphia 76ers/Haiti).
• In July of 2007 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the US National Basketball Association
(NBA) and FIBA announced, the creation of a Learn and Play Center as well
as a health clinic for the Special Olympics, under the framework of the NBA
program “Basketball without Borders.” In the Favela Coliseu (Slum area), the
NBA inaugurated the Nike Learn and Play Center in coordination with Central
Unica das Favelas CUFA (Common Center of Favelas), and Rede Jovem
(Youth Network). This center has new basketball courts for the community,
as well as a study center with 15 computers. In 2007 participants from over
15 Latin American and Caribbean countries, all younger than 19 years of age,
participated in the “Basketball without Borders” Tournament. The NBA players
that traveled to Brazil also visited the project AMA, a home created in 2000 by
the Samaritan Hospital to provide children with free medical treatment.
• The UNICEF Office in Uruguay coordinated a social mobilization event called
“Let’s run for the children of Uruguay,” in which nearly 1,500 children and
their families enjoyed spending time with soccer idol, Diego Forlán. The
first 1,000 attendees received vests, and at the closure of the event, UNICEF
T-shirts depicting Diego Forlán with the Uruguayan team and the Football club,
Atlético Madrid, were handed out.
The year 2007 marks the fourth consecutive year of worldwide cricket players
getting together to support people living with HIV/AIDS. The International Cricket
Council (ICC), in cooperation with UNAIDS, UNICEF, and the Caribbean Broadcast
Media Partnership (CBMP) united to celebrate the World Cricket Cup for seven
weeks, which started on March 11th in Jamaica.
Several activities have been undertaken to draw the world’s attention towards
the resources and actions needed to prevent HIV/AIDS. Among other activities,
a campaign including a series of TV and radio announcements was produced,
showing testimonies of outstanding players such as Ricky Pontig from Australia
and Rahul Dravid from India. The CBMP, a coalition of more than 50 radio and
TV producers from 23 countries and territories in the Caribbean that support the
campaign, produced additional materials to disseminate the message against
HIV/AIDS through sports. Cricket is an important sport in many donor countries
who actively participate in the global response towards AIDS. Among these are
Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
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MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
BETWEEN
THE UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND (UNICEF),
THE JOINT UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME ON HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
AND THE WEST INDIES CRICKET BOARD (WICB)
On November 5, 2005, UNICEF and the United Nations Programme on
HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) signed a partnership with the West Indies Cricket Board
(WICB), as one of the most recent initiatives in the fight against HIV/AIDS
and for the advancement of children’s rights to survival, protection,
development and participation. The alliance will set out their shared
commitment to respective relationships at a regional level within the
Caribbean.
It is established that out of the estimated 40 million people living with
HIV/AIDS, almost a third live in the cricket playing world, including 440,000
in the Caribbean, which is the second most affected region in the world, and
HIV is spreading rapidly in the West Indies. Recognizing that sports can help
to promote the development of young people and to mobilize and protect
young people from HIV/AIDS world wide, also recognizing cricket as one of
the most popular sports in the Caribbean, UNAIDS and the West Indies
Cricket Board decided to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) with UNICEF to work together on the fight against AIDS, while also
collaborating with the promotion of sport for development as part of a
UNICEF led campaign against violence in the Caribbean.
Creating Spaces Free from Violence and Practicing
Conflict Resolution
Increasing inequality and exclusion in Latin America and the Caribbean has led to
social polarization and as a result, violence and instability have become a fact of life
in much of the region.
Violence against children takes various forms. There are increased rates of abuse
within the family, the community, the school as well as violence perpetrated by
State institutions. There is also gang activity where children are recruited by adults.
Believing in the notion that youth are not the problem but part of the solution,
UNICEF supports the creation of safe and protective environments free from
violence in the home, school and community where children can grow to reach
their full potential.
9
UNICEF uses sport and music to deliver messages and teach conflict resolution,
tolerance and peace. Sports programmes also provide structure in unstructured
and destabilizing environments and channel energies away from aggression or
self-destruction. Sport can also help build the individual skills and values necessary
to avoid conflict and to ensure peace.
• The Xchange movement across seven Caribbean countries uses music,
sport, art and drama to change behaviours and lifestyles and ultimately
reduce violence in the Caribbean region. To become an Xchanger, young
people pledge to commit themselves to a positive lifestyle and become a role
model for their peers. As part of the movement, UNICEF provides schools
with supplies to support sports, music and art programmes that give young
people a chance to develop their multiple skills and talents. UNICEF also helps
organize recreational activities in the communities which will give adolescents
a chance to demonstrate their talents and build team spirit.
�Change
• The Crianza Esperanza (Spaces for Hope) initiative attempts to create a culture
of peace in the most violent urban areas of large Brazilian cities by offering
disadvantaged children and adolescents extra-curricular activities such as
sports, tutoring, music, and theatre and art classes.
• In Curitiba, in southern Brazil, UNICEF supports a detention centre for young
people in conflict with the law. After academic classes, they play football, learn
judo and practice gymnastics, helping them to channel frustrations and learn
new ways to deal with anger.
• 1,400 children living in the street, unpaid domestic servants, orphans and
other vulnerable children are part of the Timoun Nan Spo Pou La Pe project
(Children in Sport for Peace) in Haiti. Girls and boys between 8 and 15 years of
age have been integrated into existing football clubs where they not only get
the chance to practice football but also to talk about peace and non-violence.
• By comparing a game of football with life in general, Mano Amiga works to
prevent violence in four Panamanian districts with high rates of violence.
Before each game, UNICEF-trained educators hold talks on violence, explaining
the role of the referee and yellow and red cards and draw parallels to real life
situations. Parents also participate in workshops, learning the importance of
play and sports in children’s lives.
• In Panama, the soccer tournament “Happy Vacations” has been organized
annually for the past six consecutive years. It receives the support of the
Mayor’s office, the National Police, the National Institute of Sports, and
the Ministry of Social Development. Before each game, teams of children
between the ages of six and twelve years old, who come from underprivileged
family backgrounds, participate in dynamic discussions about the rights and
obligations of children, teamwork and leadership. They also learn about how
to prevent HIV and how to stay away from drugs. In 2007, UNICEF joined this
initiative, and by request from the group, provided UNICEF uniforms from the
Football Club Barcelona.
10
© UNICEF/PERÚ/2004/Sengo Pérez © UNICEF/JAMAICA/Shehzad Noorani
• Following the motto “A goal for adversity,” 176 adolescents participated in the
Rotating Soccer Cup in Costa Rica, entitled “First Rotating Cup of Presidential
Delegates.” The tournament was dedicated to the country’s President for the
purpose of promoting sports and games as vital rights for the development
of the younger generation. Furthermore, the initiative aimed at enhancing
strategies for the prevention of violence, and for strengthening values such as
discipline, teamwork and solidarity. The players, who were between 11 and 15
years of age, received school materials donated by the French Embassy and
private companies.
Promoting Investment in Children
Children are particularly hard-hit by poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean.
In fact, two out of every five people living in extreme poverty in this region are
children.
Poverty is the main underlying cause of millions of preventable child deaths
each year and often prevents children from attending school. Children living in
extreme poverty are two to six times more likely than other children to suffer from
undernutrition or chronic malnutrition and are less likely to complete primary
education.
Poverty in the region is closely linked to the fact that Latin America has the
world’s highest levels of socioeconomic inequality. Therefore, investment in social
services as a means to fulfil children’s rights and reduce disparities is crucial and
increasingly the focus of UNICEF’s work in the region.
Investments in sports facilities and programmes in schools and communities make
it possible to fulfil a child’s right to engage in play and recreational activities in a
nurturing and protective environment. Sports can also have a positive impact on
public policy through the promotion of children’s rights at sports events. Games
are an ideal forum for reaching large numbers of people, whether at the event or
through its media coverage. Public service announcements, in-stadium videos and
banners, half-time shows and publications can raise awareness among the public
and leverage the power of sport to realize advances for children, especially those
most disadvantaged.
• With a campaign called ¡Con los niños sí se gana! (You Win with Children!),
UNICEF and the South American Soccer Federation (CONMEBOL) dedicated
the Copa América 2004 to the children of the host country, Peru, through a
series of activities designed to guarantee good football by promoting child
development.
11
• During the Americas Cup in Venezuela, for the launch of the campaign “You
Win With Children,” the UNICEF Office produced a promotional video about
the rights of children to engage in sports. The production, which was donated
by the advertising agency Leo Burnett, was filmed in Petare, one of the poorest
and most disadvantaged parts of Caracas. More than 80 children and the
entire community participated in this event. The video was transmitted at the
national and regional level. The final game of the Americas Cup coincided
with the Venezuelan Day of the Child, and thanks to the agreement signed with
CONMEBOL, 22 boys and girls dressed in UNICEF shirts, accompanied the
soccer players into the stadium as ambassadors of their own rights.
Providing Quality Education
Primary education enrollment increased in the region during the 1990s and reached
93 percent in 2003. However, the main problem in the region continues to be the
quality of education and the often hidden forms of exclusion, discrimination and
failure. Only 82 percent of children reach 5th grade, repetition rates are high, and
actual learning achievement is significantly below the expected standards.
UNICEF offices in Latin America and the Caribbean are working to reduce persistent
disparities in access to education for the most excluded children -- those living in
rural areas, indigenous boys and girls, children from poor urban households and
those with disabilities.
© UNICEF/REP. DOMINICANA/Luis González
Sport, recreation, play and other activities such as music and drama can help
improve the quality of education by providing opportunities for development of
the child’s multiple skills, not just their intellectual capacities. Studies show that
children who do at least five hours per week of physical activity achieve better
marks than those who are active for less than one hour.1 When included in the
school curriculum, physical education can also boost school enrolment and
attendance.
Also, after-school recreation programmes in and around schools are excellent ways
to create safe spaces for children and adolescents, as well as to continue learning
beyond the classroom.
• Segundo Tempo is offered through Brazil’s primary and secondary schools,
with the aim to provide a comprehensive four-hour programme to children
and youth, in addition to their four-hour school day. The main objective is to
provide learning activities through sports and recreation, helping to keep kids
safe and active for longer periods of the day, thus improving their health and
education. In 2004, after only one year, the programme had reached 1 million
children and 2,300 teachers. The goal is to reach the 39 million school-aged
children and youth in Brazil by 2010.
R. Shephard and R. Lavell (1994), quoted in the document prepared by ICSSPE
for MINEPS III, Punta del Este, 30 November-3 December 1999.
1
12
• Casa do Pequeno Davi in João Pessoa, Brazil, was created with UNICEF’s
support in order to enrol children living in the street in school. Sports and
leisure activities are offered as a way to motivate young people to get involved
in educational programs and training workshops.
© UNICEF/COLOMBIA/Luis Ramirez
• Through a UNICEF-assisted complementary educational programme, Club
Vitoria, one of the leading football teams in Brazil, provides formal and nonformal education for at-risk boys and young men. In addition to training
internships, the young athletes receive basic education and life-skills training,
as well as classes in citizenship, Brazilian culture, HIV/AIDS awareness and
prevention, media relations and languages.
• In Cabo de Santo Agostinho, Brazil, UNICEF and the Umbu-Ganzá Citizen
Center work to raise school attendance by providing sport as an extracurricular
activity in schools in the municipality, helping to keep children away from
exploitation and violence. Before the start of the project Full Time Education,
more than 8,000 children from the town didn’t attend school. Thanks to sports,
today they have all been enrolled.
• In El Alto, Bolivia, where poverty forces many children to work rather than
attend school, the Child Friendly School project aspires to help children remain
in school by improving the quality of education and school facilities. The 12
participating schools receive educational kits with school supplies such as
dictionaries, pencil cases, calculators and books as well as sport kits
with vests, footballs, basketballs, volleyballs, nets, etc.
• In Nicaragua, the Child Friendly and Healthy School initiative promotes
sports, cultural and recreational activities as essential components of quality
education.
Helping Heal the Scars of War and Disaster
Hurricanes in the Caribbean, cold fronts in the Andes, drought in the Chaco,
flooding in Central America, Bolivia and Ecuador, continued civil conflict in
Colombia spilling over into neighbouring Venezuela and Ecuador, as well as flood
disasters and near collapse of State structures in Haiti are some of the emergencies
that have affected Latin America and the Caribbean in recent years.
Cecilia Margarita “Chechi”
Baena, well-known
international ice-skating
figure, was designated a
Friend of UNICEF given her
distinguished performance
in the sports world as well
as her acclaimed image as a
determined and persevering
Colombian woman. In her
new role as the spokesperson
for the Eradication of Child
Labour Campaign. Chechi
is actively involved in
sensitizing Colombians on
the effects and causes of this
practice to generate cultural
changes.
Whenever natural disaster strikes or violent conflict erupts, children are among
the most affected. School is suspended, leaving children without structure and a
sense of normalcy. And whether they hear accounts of violence, witness it first
hand, participate in it or become victims, it has pervasive effects on children.
Therefore, UNICEF is intensifying its psychosocial initiatives to help traumatized
children.
In times of conflict, post-conflict and emergencies, sport, recreation and play can
provide children and adolescents with a sense of hope and normalcy. It helps
traumatized children learn to integrate the experience of pain, fear and loss. It
helps heal emotional scars, creating a safe environment that enables children and
adolescents to express their feelings and build their self-esteem, self-confidence
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and trust. It can rehabilitate traumatized children, help reintegrate child
soldiers into society and rebuild community spirit.
© UNICEF/HAITÍ/2004/Daniel Morel
Sport, as a universal language, can also be a powerful vehicle to promote peace,
tolerance and understanding. Through its power to bring people together across
boundaries, cultures and religions, it can promote reconciliation, reduce tensions
and generate dialogue.
The brazilian player Roberto
Carlos, signing a boy’s shirt during
a practice game in the Dominican
Republic.
• In Colombia, the Football for Peace project is a partnership between the High
Commissioner for Peace, the Young Colombia Programme, Government
ministries and the private sector. Public spaces are being rehabilitated and
turned into football fields to promote tolerance and conflict resolution. The
project helps communities understand that all children, including current and
former child soldiers, have rights and that no child should be marginalized.
To promote gender equality, girls and boys play on the same team. Goals are
not counted unless a girl has participated in the play. Around 20,000 children
and adolescents and 5,000 coaches in 50 municipalities are participating in the
Football for Peace project. It is estimated that the peace messages are reaching
more than 50,000 people in Colombia through this initiative.
• In August 2004, six months after a bloody uprising, the Haitian national team
and World Cup champion Brazil - lead by superstars Ronaldo and Ronaldihno
- played a historic Game for Peace in Haiti’s capital Port-Au-Prince to promote
peace, help create goodwill for the new UN peacekeeping mission and
encourage armed factions to hand in their guns. Some 300 disadvantaged
children were invited to the match, and before the big game, young people
from the capital’s poorest neighbourhoods played their own game for peace.
• Over 400 people, half of them children, lost their lives in the fire in the Yuka
Bolaños supermarket in Paraguay in 2004. One year later, over 2,000 children
were still participating in sport and recreational activities set up by 200
UNICEF-trained volunteers to help them cope with their traumatic experiences
through play.
• When Hurricane Ivan left its trail of destruction in Grenada in 2004, many
things that gave meaning to the lives of children were lost - among them their
toys. As a response, UNICEF donated 100 recreational kits for use in secondary
schools and as part of psychosocial support programmes, containing supplies
for up to 40 children each. Tambourines, rattles, drums and dance costumes
encourage children to express themselves. These kits were complemented by
a gift of 15 football kits by FIFA to help revive community sports programmes.
Approximately 8,000 students in 19 schools have benefited from the kits and
in some schools they are still the only recreational equipment available to the
students.
14
• In Nicaragua, the “education bridges” organized during emergencies use
sports and games that are part of the traditional local culture, in a strategy
to re-establish a sense of normalcy and confidence for children whose
communities have been devastated by natural disaster.
• Encouraging swimming among boys and girls from a young age is one of
the proposals of UNICEF’s work in Cuba, who along with the National Sports
Institute (INDER), strengthen the education of swimming as a curricular
activity in the Educational System. 11,200 boys and girls have benefited in 38
elementary schools from 6 provinces in the country through the rehabilitating
and conditioning of 11 swimming pools in the first phase, the donation of
learning materials for swimming and personal safety and the elaboration
of educational materials and social communication. The goal is to diminish
incidents of death due to drowning and submersion, constituting one of
the primary causes of death among boys, girls and adolescents in Cuba.
Furthermore, in rural schools they encourage the right to safe recreation by
means of practicing sports providing these communities with recreational
materials.
UNICEF and the Special Olympics for children with different
capabilities
In December 2006 the United Nations approved the Convention on the Rights of
Disabled Persons, giving greater dissemination and relevance to the aspects of
disabilities in relation to human rights.
© UNICEF/HQ05-0186/Jan Mun
In the context of the recently approved Convention, UNICEF and the Special
Olympics work in favor for the ratification and implementation of the Convention
in all countries around the world. Additionally, in the framework of celebrating
the Special Olympic World Games in Shanghai, in October 2007, UNICEF and the
Special Olympics International announced an alliance in favor of disabled children.
This alliance will initially take place in Bulgaria, Cambodia, China, El Salvador,
Jamaica, Panama and Uzbekistan.
15
© UNICEF/Alejandro Balaguer
REACHING INDIGENOUS
AND AFRODESCENDANT
CHILDREN
16
Latin America and the Caribbean is marked by discrimination that results in the
exclusion and inequality of over 40 million indigenous and 150 million people of
African descent, about 37% of the total population of the region.
The rate of extreme poverty among the indigenous and afro-descendant population
is consistently higher than that among the rest of the population. Therefore,
UNICEF works with these communities and governments to bring culturally
relevant social services such as health care, nutrition, and access to safe water.
UNICEF also emphasizes the right of indigenous children to develop their cultural
identity, language, values, religion. Indigenous children regularly experience
discrimination at school. Frequently they are prohibited from wearing their
traditional clothes or hairstyles. The education provided in schools does not take
into account their mother language, customs and values, thus making it difficult for
them to stay in school.
The cultural heritage of indigenous communities includes a number of games that
involve the whole community. Similarly, sport is about participation and a sense of
belonging. Sport highlights commonalties and bridges cultural and ethnic divides.
Therefore, sport is an effective way to reach excluded and discriminated children
and adolescents. Sport offers them companionship, support and connectedness.
Through sport and physical education, they can experience equality and a
dignifying means for empowerment.
• In July 2007, within the framework of the Americas Cup
in Venezuela, a Conference of Indigenous for the Right
to do Sports and to Play took place. It was organized
by the National Network of Indigenous Children and
Adolescents, the University of Zulia, and UNICEF.
Some 34 Indigenous populations participated. These
populations presented five Indigenous games, and used
this opportunity to demand their right to play and to
participate in sports. This is their tool to achieve access
to the benefits of development in an environment free of
violence and exploitation.
© UNICEF/Cristobal Corral
• The Child Friendly Schools in the Mexican states of Chiapas and Yucatan, both
characterized by marginalization and large indigenous populations, promote
high quality education for indigenous children and adolescents within a
friendly school environment for learning. Using extracurricular activities such
as cultural events, music, and sports, these schools improve attendance rates
and learning in the classroom while promoting active community participation
in the education of children.
17
© UNICEF/PERÚ/Eduardo San Román
HELPING ADOLESCENTS
REACH THEIR FULL
POTENTIAL
“Sports builds bodies and minds, promotes public health
and instills important values, such as teamwork, fairness,
and communication. It also teaches the importance of
interdependence. Whether they are playing on busy
streets, in crowded refugee camps or amidst the chaos
of conflict, children find joy through sport.”
Ann M. Veneman, UNICEF Executive Director
18
Participation is an important part of adolescent development. Participation is both
a right for all children and adolescents, and an end in itself. Through participation
young people develop skills, aspirations, and gain confidence. They can educate
their peers about life’s challenges and the dangers of high-risk behaviour. They can
help others like themselves break cycles of violence and discrimination.
ldren
With Chi
We Win!
s enfants
Avec le
Sport opens the door to both development and participation by fostering skills such
as team-building, communication, negotiation and leadership, while emphasising
the participation and the inclusion of all groups in society, regardless of gender, age
or race. Also, it allows young people to have fun.
on gagne!
os
iñ
¡Con los n
sí se gana!
• Under the slogan Teenagers always win, UNICEF and FIFA used the 2005 U-17
Football World Cup to show that adolescents are not part of the problem but
are the best resources available to Peru for its development. Adolescents
from the five host cities presented ideas for change to high level regional
authorities, including spaces for young people to meet and organize their
activities, as well as community venues for sports and recreation.
• Sports and Citizenship is a UNICEF- supported project in Salvador, Brazil,
where adolescents practice sports but also attend classes on HIV/AIDS, citizen
participation and non-violence. Thanks to the sport activities, there are fewer
absences in the classes.
• El Encuentro Juvenil (Young Meeting Place) is a cultural
house in Tecoluca, El Salvador, a poor community with few
opportunities for adolescents. Under one roof, adolescents
learn about alcoholism, drugs, HIV/AIDS and intra-family
communication, receive vocational training, participate in
cultural activities, and do sports such as athletics, table tennis,
basketball, football and chess. The programme also provides
girls with the opportunity to play sports traditionally considered
masculine.
Combating Child Labour
Latin America and the Caribbean has approximately 17.4 million child workers,
which means that 16 per cent of children in the region are working. UNICEF’s work
is focused on building a protective environment for children that safeguards them
from exploitation and abuse and keeps vulnerable children and adolescents in
school.
As part of a quality education, sport can help to rehabilitate child labourers,
strengthening their capacities, serving as part of an alternative to work and giving
them the opportunity to play. Sport can also be used as a platform to mobilize
young people within the community against child labour.
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© UNICEF/Paraguay/F. Cabrera
• On Saturday mornings, a team of volunteers from the Paraguayan Olympic
Committee receives over 1,200 children for Sports on Saturdays. The children
are divided into smaller groups to play football, volleyball or basketball. Sports
on Saturdays is part of the UNICEF-supported Abrazos programme that works
to reduce child labour.
• The Olympic Committee’s trophy “Sports and community” was awarded
to UNICEF in Paraguay in early 2007 for their contribution to the “Project
JAPOPO” which gives children from the “Programa Abrazo” (Program Hug)
access to leisure and sports. The “Programa Abrazo” is an integral response
which aims at including schools, nutritional assistance, health, support to the
families, recreational activities and other strategies to guarantee the education
of children and their protection from labor and exploitation.
• 19-year-old child labour activist Núbia Oliveira Silva participated in the 2004
Olympic Torch Relay as a UNICEF torchbearer. Running one leg in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil, where one million people had turned out on the streets to
watch the relay, she helped draw attention to the issue of child labour.
Breaking Down Gender Stereotypes
In Latin America and the Caribbean, as in the rest of the world, gender inequalities
begin during childhood, continue into adolescence, and remain throughout
adulthood. Informal and formal discrimination means that girls often lack economic
resources, have difficulties to enter certain professions and have fewer recreational
opportunities such as sports. Early marriage and pregnancy also make it harder for
girls to access education and employment. Furthermore, physical and sexual abuse
affects girls disproportionately.
Given that sport is a traditionally male domain, girls’ participation in sport
challenges stereotypes of girls and women, breaking down entrenched attitudes.
Through sport, girls are given the chance to be leaders and improve their
confidence and self-esteem which allows them to become more engaged in school
and community life.
© UNICEF/Cristobal Corral
The skills and values learned through sport are especially important for girls,
given that they have fewer opportunities than boys for social interaction outside
the home and beyond family networks. Sports teams and leagues often provide
girls with a forum to develop a sense of camaraderie and share time and values
with other girls. They can also act in a public environment and improve their
health, as well as develop their individual athletic skills, which again contribute to
strengthening their self-esteem.
• To promote the participation of indigenous girls in sports, UNICEF and FIFA
organized football tournaments in the department of Chuquisaca, Bolivia,
in 2004. 100 schools participated using FIFA’s Football Kits containing balls,
whistles, stopwatches, pickets with flags, and pumps. Although the project
ended, the children, both boys and girls, are still playing.
• In September 2007, the 5th Female Soccer World Cup, organized by FIFA,
took place in China. During the event FIFA and UNICEF launched the common
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campaign “Goals for Girls,” which uses the path of sports—especially football—
to promote education and gender equality, as well as the rights of women and
girls. This campaign, in turn, promotes a model of a school which adapts to
children and offers boys, as well as girls, high quality education in a secure
environment, including in emergency situations.
Communicating the Message
Sporting matches are an ideal forum for reaching large numbers of
people, whether at the event or through its media coverage. Public service
announcements, in-stadium videos and banners, half-time shows and
publications can leverage the power of sport to achieve goals for children,
especially the most disadvantaged.
• The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Football
Associations, CONCACAF, dedicated the 2005 Gold Cup to UNICEF
and to the children of Latin America and the Caribbean. Under the
slogan “With Children We Win”, UNICEF and CONCACAF pledged to
develop a long-term partnership to benefit children through advocacy
and information and building grass-roots programmes. The Gold Cup
was played in seven stadiums in six cities across the United States in
July 2005, with children escorting players into the field for the finals
of a three-week long 10-country tournament highlighting education,
fighting HIV/AIDS, child protection and conflict resolution.
• During the regional football club tournament Copa Sudamericana and the sport
marketing group, TRAFFIC, provided free of charge field billboards, which meant
high visibility for UNICEF during the 66 games played all over South America
during six months in 2005 and 2006.
• More than 300 young figure skaters from all over Colombia participated in the
UNICEF Figure Skating Cup, organized by UNICEF and the Colombian Figure
Skating Federation. The event brought attention to the 2.5 million
working children in the country.
• As part of the annual Coca-Cola Cup, played between Peruvian
secondary school students, UNICEF and Coca-Cola awarded the player
who had showed the greatest ability to combine sports practice with a
good performance in school. A second award was given to the player
whose personal background best represented good values and a will to
persevere in spite of a high-risk social environment.
• The official sponsors of the 2004 Copa America embraced the proposal
put forth by the South American Soccer Federation (CONMEBOL) and
UNICEF. Pepsi, LG Electronics, Master Card and PETROBRAS organized
activities to convey the message of With Children We All Win! to the
thousands of fans who see and hear their advertising. These activities
included events with journalists at the stadiums and at several of the
Copa América promotional events planned by the sponsors.
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© UNICEF/HAITÍ/2004/Daniel Morel
SPORT CELEBRITIES
AND GOODWILL
AMBASSADORS
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The popularity of sport stars allows them to effectively reach diverse audiences, as
well as attract the media’s attention. In addition to raising awareness about issues,
athletes serving as spokespersons can generate the interest of fellow athletes and
team members, and contribute to resource mobilization efforts.
Sport provides heroes to admire and positive role models who can inspire young
people. These champions can focus the world’s eyes on the needs of children
both in their own countries and abroad by visiting field projects and emergency
programmes. They make direct appeals to those with the power to effect
change and use their talents and fame to raise funds and advocate for
children.
© UNICEF/HAITÍ/2004/Daniel Morel
Local sports figures, heroes in their own countries, invoke civic pride
and contribute to national heritage. They visit schools and youth clubs,
reaching the next generation with important health messages. In the
most effective programmes, athletes reinforce key health or child rights
issues through repeated school visits.
Latin American Goodwill Ambassadors
for UNICEF:
• Iván Zamorano - Chilean football player
• Diego Forlán - Uruguayan football player
• Enzo Francescoli - Uruguayan football player
• Manu Ginobuli – Olympic champion and argentinian basketball player
A Game for Peace Port-au-Prince, Haiti, 2004.
Latin American Friends of UNICEF:
• Cecilia “La Chechi” Baena - Colombian figure skater
• Iván Ramiro Córdoba - Colombian football player
• Jorginho - Brazilian football player
• Dwight Yorke - Trinidad & Tobago
• Through a Sports Caravan, ESPN and UNICEF took sport activities in 2005,
to the ten Brazilian municipalities with the lowest Human Development
Indicators, where children and adolescents have little access to organized
sports. For ten days, athletes, sport celebrities and professionals in the area
of physical education held workshops in basketball, volleyball, football, and
tennis, involving not only children but also teachers, parents and the entire
communities, demonstrating the power of sports for social transformation.
The purpose was to raise the awareness of young people about citizenshiprelated issues and use sports to promote self-esteem, friendship, social life,
and the importance of environmental protection.
• Together with the system of UN agencies, UNICEF was present at the
Panamerican Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in July 2007, which worked to
promote social development and the fulfillment of the Millennium Goals for
children through sports. The UNICEF office in Brazil seized the opportunity to
introduce the athletic icon, Ana Moser, to volunteers and people who were
interested in learning more about the Sports Caravan.
© UNICEF/HAITÍ/2004/Daniel Morel
Sport as an agent of change
During the Game for Peace,
UNICEF invited more than 320
children to the game. Donald
entered the stadium with
Ronaldo. He was born HIV
positive and is under care at a
UNICEF-supported centre for
children who are affected by
HIV/AIDS.
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© UNICEF/BRAZIL/2005/Paula Costa
RAISING FUNDS FOR
UNICEF’S WORK
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• In 2004, a selection of Brazilian football players from the 1994 World Cup
winning team faced off against the Haitian national team in a friendly match
in the Orange Bowl, Miami, focusing attention on the Haitian boys and girls
affected by the devastating Hurricane Jeanne and raising funds for UNICEF
programmes in areas such as health and education on the island. Five dollars
from each ticket sold went directly to support UNICEF’s work for Haitian children.
• A three hour flash tournament, Champions for Children, raised funds for
Argentinean children in 2005. Six professional Argentinean football clubs with
seven players on each team competed for the victory under special rules, such
as an unlimited number of changes and no offside. 8,000 spectators came to the
stadium, while thousands watched the televised show. All money raised through
ticket sales and sponsorships went to UNICEF’s work in the country.
• All money raised through ticket sales in the 2005 Copa Petrobrás tennis
tournament in Montevideo, went to support UNICEF programs in Uruguay.
• A golf tournament with many world reknown golf players was sponsored by
Audi, and part of the funds raised went to UNICEF programs in Uruguay.
• Tennis tournaments were held in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico, promoted
by UNICEF and the ATP Director of Communications and Relations. Related to
the tournaments, Chile co-negotiated an agreement with Movistar (from Grupo
Telefónica) -one of the largest mobile companies in the region. Movistar sent
SMS messages to their clients to encourage donations to UNICEF Chile.
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Strengthening Sport Development through
Comunication Activities
• A tennis tournament for children was held in Punta del Este, Uruguay 2006,
with many well known players including David Nalbandian, Guillermo Coria,
Fernando González, and former tennis stars Diego Pérez, Guillermo Vilas and
Gabriela Sabatini.
• A campaign was carried out by the Organization of Football for Children, ONFI
in Uruguay. A spot was created with Diego Forlán to promote soccer without
violence, for peace and development.
• Many directors of sporting programs and other radio and TV channels joined
the launch of the campaign UNITE FOR CHILDREN, UNITE FOR PEACE and
promotion of the National Football Day in Panama, sponsored by the National
Institute of Sport INDE and UNICEF.
• A video was produced by UNICEF and FOSIS
in Chile showing an indigenous child dreaming
of being a football player for the Real Madrid
team. Ivan Zamorano, UNICEF Goodwill
Ambassador, appears in the TV spot.
• UNICEF, Diego Portales University and El
Mercurio newspaper joined together in Chile to
create the Learning with the World Cup Activity
Guide. The Guide was distributed to teachers,
students and parents.
• In Chile the Municipality of Las Condes and
UNICEF promoted the football tournament
Copa Mundialito Las Condes 2006, in which 32
schools participated.
• In 2006, the most famous comic characters
in Brazil, Turma da Mônica, joined UNICEF in promoting sports as every
child’s right. The comic books present, every month, a subject related to sport.
The books talk about the importance of games for children’s development
and health, the inclusion of children with disabilities in sports activities, the
promotion of peace through sport and other themes. The partnership between
UNICEF and Mauricio de Sousa Produções reaches over 4 million children all
over Brazil every month.
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Regional Partnerships
UNICEF and CONMEBOL BECOME ALLIES
IN FAVOR OF CHILDREN
On May 7 2004 in Asunción, Paraguay, the Federation of South American
Football - CONMEBOL - and UNICEF signed a partnership agreement
committing both organizations to use soccer in the promotion of child rights.
The 2004 Copa América was dedicated to the children of South America, using
the theme “With Children, We All Win!” UNICEF promoted advocacy and fund
raising, sports programmes in Paraguay. The message is that early-on children
need to develop their physical and emotional strengths in order to be healthy
and strong footballers later in life.
During the 18 soccer matches, the organizers and UNICEF developed a joint
communication strategy that included special participation of children in
stadiums and a high level seminar at the end of the tournament to discuss the
power of soccer and sports in the promotion of the rights of the child.
Billboards in stadiums, mass media campaigns and other activities helped to
reach thousands of soccer fans with messages on the importance to guarantee
the rights of children.
CONCACAF and UNICEF
2005 GOLD CUP DEDICATED TO
LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN CHILDREN
UNICEF and The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean
Association Football (CONCACAF) team up against HIV and violence
The dedication of the Gold Cup to children contributed to addressing the
increasing violence and HIV/AIDS in the CONCACAF region. It was an
opportunity for advocacy and communication to raise awareness in the
countries involved in the tournament regarding issues affecting children and
adolescents.
“We need to work in partnership to get girls and boys onto sports fields and
playgrounds, and to educate children and their families about the benefits
of sports. UNICEF has a long standing cooperation with FIFA as well as
CONCACAF to develop programmes to guarantee children’s right to play,” said
Nils Kastberg, UNICEF Regional Director.
UNCAF and UNICEF
In February 2005, UNICEF and UNCAF (Unión Centroamericana de Fútbol)
formed a partnership to work with soccer as a tool for promoting the rights
of children and adolescents in the region. The UNCAF Cup in Guatemala was
dedicated to the children of Central America.
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UNITE FOR
CHILDREN
UNITE FOR
PEACE
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© UNICEF/COLOMBIA/William Fernando Martínez
UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE FOR PEACE has been launched to address issues of
violence, conflict and abuse affecting children and adolescents around the world.
The objective of this campaign, which UNICEF and FIFA brought to the hundreds of
millions of viewers during the games in Germany for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, is
to ensure that every child has the right to a peaceful world, free from conflict and
abuse.
The ‘Superfans’ public service announcement (PSA) series - produced by MTV and
UNICEF - brings together 15 world-class players from 15 countries in a virtual ‘Team
UNICEF’ to pledge support for the 2006 FIFA World Cup campaign theme, UNITE
FOR CHILDREN, UNITE FOR PEACE. The video spots also unite these players with
young footballers in a series of vignettes shot around the globe.
There are 5 players from Latin America and the Caribbean who have joined
the virtual “Team UNICEF”
Rafael Márquez (Mexico)
Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Edwin Tenorio (Ecuador)
Paolo Wanchope (Costa Rica)
Dwight Yorke (Trinidad and Tobago)
For the 2006 FIFA World Cup, UNICEF and FIFA campaigned to ensure a more
peaceful world for children. This is a profile of two of Team UNICEF’s star
players:
© UNICEF/Ecuador/2006
Edwin Tenorio, Ecuadorian star with strength and passion
Edwin Tenorio, one of the best known football players in Ecuador, joined UNICEF
and FIFA in the UNITE FOR CHILDREN, UNITE FOR PEACE campaign for the 2006
FIFA World Cup.
It’s not the first time he has supported UNICEF’s efforts for children. Tenorio and
some of his partners on the Ecuadorian national football team recorded a series
of spots promoting UNICEF´s campaign on access to education for all. He also
supports a non-governmental organization that works to protect the environment in
the province of Esmeraldas, where he was born.
Edwin Tenorio is one of the
most well-known football
players in Ecuador.
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Dwight Yorke, international phenomenon
from Trinidad and Tobago
© UNICEF/UK/2006/Burmeston
Dwight Yorke, captain of the Trinidad and Tobago national team, is
an international football phenomenon. Yorke has been a friend and
supporter of UNICEF since 2001, when he took part in a mission
to the Far East with other teammates from his former Manchester
United squad - organizing a morning of football skills coaching
for 24 children from UNICEF-supported child-friendly schools
in Bangkok as part of the United for UNICEF partnership.
The children had the chance to practice their skills - dribbling,
passing and ball control - with their favorite football stars.
Dwight Yorke is one of the few
players to have won medals for the
FA Cup, the Premier League and the
European Champions League.
“What could be better than using football, which breaks down
boundaries of race, culture and status, to make a real difference
to the children of this world?” said Yorke.
Youth player profiles
Redemption through football - Colombia
© UNICEF/COLOMBIA/2006/Linton
Harold may be less at risk than many other boys. He loves playing football
and recently joined a project called Golombiao that uses the game to steer
children away from delinquency and crime. The project, which is supported
by UNICEF, also aims to build self-respect and respect for others. “Football
means Harold doesn’t have time to hang out on the street corners with
other boys from the neighborhood,” says James Ochoa, the Golombiao
coordinator in Monteria. “Through football young people have learned how to
communicate with each other. They see it as a way to make new friends, to
get rid of their frustrations and to do something healthy with their free time.”
Fourteen-year-old footballer
Harold Chavez takes time out
from a game organized by the
Golombiao project at his
school.
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As a member of Golombiao, Harold plays one or two matches during
weekends and practices three times a week. In a variation designed to
teach the players how to keep order on their own, the games have no
referee and there are some extra rules to which they agree among
themselves - typically each side’s first goal can only count if it is
scored by a girl, for example.
Harold’s mother says that before he joined Golombiao he used to talk about
his plans to punish the people who drove the family off their land, but today
he wants to try and make it as a professional footballer. “If I absorb myself in
football and study it I think I could become a player like Ronaldinho,” he says.
Football helps Ivna Chérie, 11,
forget violence in Haiti
© UNICEF/HAITÍ/2006/Linton
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - On a sweltering Saturday morning
when many Haitians are staying out of the sun, Ivna Chérie is
playing football with her schoolmates on the pitch of a
dilapidated stadium outside the capital, Port-Au-Prince.
Eleven-year-old Ivna has been playing twice a week for close
to a year since she and her aunt, Germaine Chérie, had to
leave their home in the inner-city neighborhood of Nazon
due to an upsurge in gang violence.
Learning fair play
Footballer Ivna Chérie, 11, and her schoolmates
wait for their match to start at a stadium on the
edge of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince.
Timkatek football coach Fritz Cariotte believes the game has an important
social lesson for children brought up in a society with a history of brutality
and injustice: “Football teaches them to forgive each other when they get
hurt instead of reacting with violence. They learn fair play.”
Football may be helping compensate for the tough life Ivna has faced
so far. “She is happier,” says teacher Sophia Pierre, who helped Germaine get Ivna
into Timkatek. “I notice she’s happy even when she’s watching football, not
to mention when she’s playing.”
Ivna confirms that assessment. “Football makes me feel better,” she says.
“It helps me not to think about the bad things that are happening out there
in the world.”
School offers football
© UNICEF/HAITÍ/2006/Linton
Besides a good academic curriculum, the Timkatek School offers
football, which appeals to Germaine, a long-time fan of the Brazilian
national football team - especially stars Ronaldo and Ronaldinho.
“I always said that if I was bringing up a boy or a girl I would want
them to play football,” she says. “I would encourage Ivna to continue
playing because it could give her a chance to travel and see other
countries, and get access to things she wouldn’t otherwise have.”
Ivna practices before a Saturday
morning game.
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© UNICEF/CENTRO AMERICA/2006/Cesar Villar
UNICEF
Regional Office for
Latin America and the Caribbean
Morse Avenue, Bldg. 131
Ciudad del Saber
P.O. Box 0843-03045
Panamá, Rep. of Panamá
www.unicef.org/lac
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