Doha, November 13 (QNA) – Football, the most popular game in the world, is no longer just a sport, it also has many medical, social, developmental, and economic benefits.
Recognizing the importance of football in providing generations of children and young people with life skills that help develop their societies, the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) initiative Generation Amazing Foundation was launched in 2010, coinciding with the submission of Qatar’s bid to host the 2022 World Cup to continue enhancing communication between people after the end of the tournament.
The philosophy of these initiatives is based on using sports, football in particular, as a transformative tool to achieve economic and social development goals, and its broader benefits for the youth, refugee communities, and marginalized and disadvantaged groups around the world.
Since its launch, the program has benefited more than 30 communities and more than 750,000 people to date. The program continues to move forward to achieve its goal of reaching more than one million beneficiaries by the end of 2022, starting from Qatar to India, Rwanda, Haiti, and others.
As the program expands to destinations, it will continue to inspire and enhance community development efforts and contribute to establishing a sustainable legacy for the World Cup.
Generation Amazing’s activities align with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to promote inclusivity and gender equality through the Football for Development (F4D) program.
Football is the main driver of the initiative and has a significant impact on providing generations of children and youth with life skills that help develop their communities.
Locally, Generation Amazing continues its cooperation with the Qatar Football Association (QFA) to build a healthy society and achieve the Qatar National Vision 2030 goals, promote societal integration and build bridges of communication between different cultures, making the world a better and more inclusive place.
Globally, through close collaboration with leading global actors, NGOs and organizations involved such as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Streetfootballworld, Right to Play, and Mercy Corps, SC’s initiative aims to find alternative and modern ways to support the F4D program, increase the number of community clubs, stadiums, and infrastructure to deliver the program, and organize football festivals for the goodness and engagement of the youth ambassadors.
The initiative includes 4 main programs. Namely, the Generation Amazing Community Club (GACC), Generation Amazing Youth Festival, Generation Amazing Youth Advocates, and F4D.
Since the launch of Generation Amazing in 2010, the program has established 30 football stadiums in marginalized and disadvantaged communities around the Middle East and Asia. In 2020, the first Generation Amazing Community Clubs (GACCs) model was created, starting with projects in Tacloban, the Philippines, and Rurka Kalan, India. A safe place to gather, learn and play, the Community Club model is designed to complement and build upon the successes of the Generation Amazing F4D program in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The GACC was developed by the community, for the community. The GACCs main objective is to be a community-powered hub that supports youth and the wider community, including programs for participants committed to social change using the transformative power of football.
The clubs are youth-led with the voice of young people influencing and powering the shared community agenda contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
As part of a network of clubs worldwide, the GACCs are at the heart of transforming communities by learning and contributing to change through sport. With the backing of civil society, sports leaders, local government, businesses, and other institutions, the clubs support driving sustainable development through and within a community.
The GACC provides a safe space that includes everyone regardless of gender, age, race, or religion. The GA Community Club is an F4D ground while being simultaneously a space for learning and social enterprise.
These clubs are a place of active participation for youth at all organizational levels- from management decisions to getting involved in activities so that youth can and will be part of the sustainable cohesive plan to ensure a community resource that strives towards core development objectives linked to social cohesion.
As for Generation Amazing Youth Festivals, it is based on football for development, bringing together 16 to 25-year-olds. The first Generation Amazing Festival in 2019 brought together 140 young leaders from 24 countries.
The festival included advocates in international and local programs, key events hosted by former and current footballers, F4D workshops led by youth advocates, and cultural performances.
The education side of things covers fundamental principles of active citizenship, taught through football and project management. Meanwhile, workshops show young people how to set up social development initiatives around football facilities, events and reach out to the community. The festival provides an exciting and valuable experience for the most promising young leaders in Generation Amazing.
Among the most important programs of Generation Amazing is the Youth Advocates Program, which pledged to train more than 100 Youth Advocates by 2022.
These ambassadors will later transfer their experiences to their colleagues and help thousands of other young people to change their lives and society for the better.
Youth Advocates are subject to a capacity-building program to hone their skills, providing them with local and international experiences to enhance their ability to convey the Generation Amazing values to young people in Qatar and around the world.
Generation Amazing aspires to empower youth advocates to bring about positive societal change by inspiring and engaging them in community development work for a period that extends beyond the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
The fourth program within the umbrella of Generation Amazing programs is Football for Development (F4D). Through it, every training session delivered is based around football as a tool for learning life skills to instantly engage people and unlock the learning outcomes of the program, driven by Generation Amazing’s unique methodology.
The program includes a series of active F4D sessions designed to teach participants footballing values and essential life skills like communication, teamwork, and leadership.
In its wider philosophy, the program adheres to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals like gender equality and social inclusion and promotes these in every aspect of its cycles.
The program is specially designed to address the specific development needs of a community and is carefully adapted to them.
Taught by specially trained coaches, and at times assisted by young program advocates, participants come away from sessions with improved life skills, values, and knowledge to build their future and improve their communities.
(QNA)