INTERCULTURAL

LEADERS

Background

The universality of sport and its unifying power have been recognized as powerful tools to promote peace, tolerance and understanding. The 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, adopted in 2015, explicitly stressed the ‘growing contribution of sport to the realization of development and peace.

Civil society organizations have for a long time recognized the potential of sport in peace and development by adopting the use of sport in fulfilling their objectives. They are necessary and central partners in advocacy, program development and delivery of sports-based initiatives at the community level whose impact trickles down to the national and global level. Therefore, it is important that the efforts of civil society organizations (CSOs) are supported to maintain and expand their contribution to peace and development as well as other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through sport.

In this context, the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) is pleased to support the Sport for One Humanity initiative, established by Turkish Airlines. The main objective of the Sport for One Humanity initiative is to select and support innovative sports-based projects implemented by CSOs that promote a culture of peace, mutual understanding and cooperation among diverse communities and cultures around the world. The initiative will give priority to projects using and promoting sport as a tool for strengthening diversity and inclusiveness, education and empowerment of youth, empowerment of women and girls, inclusion of persons with disabilities and vulnerable groups and fostering peaceful and inclusive societies.

Themes and priorities

The call for applications invites not-for profit organizations, who are implementing a project relevant for the sport development and peace agenda. The initiative will support 10 not-for-profit organizations managing and implementing sports-based projects that combine sport with development and peace objectives to raise awareness, particularly, on the power of sport as a tool to promote intercultural dialogue, strengthen diversity and foster inclusive societies.

Indicative project activities that will be supported include:

• Community outreach, meetings, workshops and activities involving local sports associations, that are aimed at improving community participation,
• Sports events and tournaments, bringing diverse groups of people together in unique ways and aiming to strengthen inclusion and peaceful coexistence within communities,
• Educational activities, ranging from short-term awareness raising sessions to long-term trainings, exchanges of youth involved in sport from communities, including peer education in schools and communities,
• Innovative sports-based life- skills training and learning activities for youth, women and girls that would also include peace education and gender equity objectives,
• Sport based projects that enhance social inclusion and integration of persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities, migrants and vulnerable social groups,
• Projects based on traditional sports and games that promote intercultural and intercommunity dialogue,
• Awareness-raising activities related to sports that involve media and social-media campaigns, as well as video production and radio programs for advocacy purposes.

Capacity building and mentoring

Selected applicants will be provided with a comprehensive capacity-development program aimed at strengthening their effectiveness in their work. The support program will consist of training through face-to-face workshops facilitated by experts, addressing various topics of interest, and continued support through customized mentoring sessions, which will be delivered online. The in- person component of the capacity- building program will be organized in view of the travel conditions in the future and may be delivered in virtual live format if travel is curtailed due to pandemic conditions.

The face-to-face workshops facilitated by expert trainers will aim to strengthen skills of the participants, in the areas of project management, advocacy and communications and monitoring and evaluation of results.

Sport for One Humanity initiative aims to support selected organizations according to their individual capacity and needs. During the delivery of the face-to-face workshops, a detailed needs assessment will be conducted with each selected applicant to determine the specific support needed. Further, through tailor- made mentorship, expert trainers will continue to provide selected applicants with project related assistance and know- how on chosen topics of interest during the implementation of their respective projects.

Recognition and Visibility

Selected applicants will be invited to participate in a ceremony that will serve to increase their visibility, raise awareness about the initiative, and bring together influencers in sport, business and civil society. During the ceremony they will have the opportunity to network with their peers and build connections with the international community including organizations working on sport for development and peace.