Doha, January 03 (QNA) – The Generation Amazing Foundation, a FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 social and human legacy initiative, has achieved many important milestones over the past year, which marked the culmination of the Foundation’s efforts over the past twelve years, with the official announcement that Sport for Development programs have positively impacted the lives of a million people around the world.
Since its launch, in conjunction with Qatar’s bid to host the 2022 World Cup, the Generation Amazing Foundation has implemented football programs for development in 35 countries.
The Foundation, which was established by the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, continues its efforts to contribute to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, by promoting inclusion and gender equality through football for development activities.
The Foundation’s work approach teaches children and youth basic life skills, including effective communication, leadership, teamwork and organization.
Executive Director of the Amazing Generation Foundation, Nasser Al Khoury, said that since Qatar won the honor of hosting the 2022 World Cup in 2010, it has realized the importance of football and its role in changing societies for the better, and it was determined to invest the influential power of this wonderful game to unleash the energies of youth worldwide.
It is a pleasure to achieve the goal of reaching one million beneficiaries before organizing the Qatar World Cup 2022, Al Khoury said, adding they will continue to work hard and with the same ambition during the year 2023.
Days before the start of the World Cup Qatar 2022, Generation Amazing hosted the fourth edition of the annual Youth Festival, with the participation of more than 400 young people from around the world in the Foundation’s first of its kind international student exchange program.
The festival witnessed the launch of a new program for sports and cultural exchange, under the name ‘Goal 22: Football, social impact and sustainability’.
The program, in which young people representing the 32 countries whose teams qualified to participate in the Qatar World Cup 2022, participated, aims to empower students who are passionate about football around the world, and teach them basic life skills through a series of workshops and virtual activities, provided by the Generation Amazing Partners Network.
Al Khoury added that it was amazing to see the youth gathering under the umbrella of the historic World Cup, where they not only supported their teams, but also benefited from football and its great impact in supporting marginalized communities and acquiring important life skills. The year 2022 has crowned all efforts that Qatar made over the past 12 years, he said.
Over the past year, Generation Amazing has continued to support marginalized communities around the world through a number of activities, including a panel discussion organized by the Foundation in June on the sidelines of the 26th Commonwealth Meeting in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, which will host a Generation Amazing club. The club will include sports facilities and provide young people with a safe space for interaction and communication.
In Aug., Generation Amazing announced the signing of a partnership agreement with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Education Above All Foundation to develop the Football for Development guide, which includes a new educational toolkit aimed at supporting refugee children around the world.
Then in Sep., coinciding with the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Generation Amazing launched an event entitled “Scoring for the Goals”, which highlighted the power of sport and its impact on encouraging serious steps to address climate change and achieve gender equality, as a commitment from the Foundation to support the United Nations Development Goals.
Towards the end of the year, Generation Amazing added another milestone to its record by expanding its Football for Development program to more schools across Jordan and Oman through a number of partnerships.
The Foundation also organized a discussion panel on the role of women in shaping the future of sports on the sidelines of the 2022 Concordia Annual Summit.
The session was held with the participation of experts and leaders in the field of sports to discuss how to benefit from major sports tournaments in bringing about fundamental and sustainable change that will benefit communities in need of assistance. (QNA)