‘Peacemakers Project’ takes grassroots approach

Local organisation Peace and Sport has inaugurated its latest endeavour the Peacemakers Project, which will help train 200 peace educators supervising nearly 2,000 children over the next two years.
The Peacemakers Project will be, in their ramp-up first year, in partnership with 10 organisations based in 10 countries each selected for their previous work and dedication to the improvement of living conditions in communities through peace-through-sport programmes.
Taught using a grassroots approach, the project will look at several pressing social issues in at-risk areas using the Peace and Sport by My Coach app as well as relying on on-the-ground associations, including Terres-en-Mêlées, COP-Colombia, Fundación ADA, TIBU-Maroc, the National Olympic Committee of Burundi, All Black Hong-Kong, Naandi Foundation, APJS, AKWOS and RFI.
Peace and Sport will also be present to assist in training as well as assessing each location individually for maximum impact.
“The Peacemakers Project aims to support organisations that work for peace using sport as a main tool in their approach,” said Joël Bouzou, President and Founder of Peace and Sport. “Peace and Sport is proud to make its know-how available to selected organisations through the Peace and Sport by MyCoach application and an M&E program created in collaboration with leading universities. We are also pleased to note the appeal of this program to prestigious partners such as Danone, who will support the sustainability of this ambitious international program.”
Using the app as one of the training tools, “peace educators” will be trained in the skills they will need to implement the programme successfully. The app has been tested in the Great Lakes region of Africa, as well as in the Zaatari refugee camp on Jordan.
It offers peace-through-sport training sessions and up-to-date content, planning, monitoring and evaluation tools.
“We are all facing these unprecedented times, and now, more than ever, is the time to join forces,” saidFlorence Bossard, Marketing Director at Danone, who sponsor the Danone Nation’s Cup. “For 20 years, the Danone Nations Cup has been much more than an international soccer competition, encouraging participants and partners to take action to make a positive impact in their communities.
“Playing sports in these troubled times is crucial for the physical and mental health of children around the world. The DNC is pleased to support the Peacemakers Project and to be able to help set up the infrastructure that will allow children to continue learning about life through sport via coaches who are experts in the rules of the game but who are also sensitive to and aware of the values surrounding this sport, such as respect, inclusiveness, and solidarity in victories as well as in defeats.”
At the end of two years of continuous training, 200 peace educators supervising nearly 2,000 children will have been trained using the methodology developed by the organisation. In addition, Peace and Sport, in partnership with leading universities, will monitor and evaluate the impact of each program.