Global IssuesQ&A: Play for Peace
Sport could be one way of alleviating the thousands of children drawn into armed conflicts around the world. Certainly Prince Feisal Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan, also president of the Jordanian Olympic Committee, believes this, and has been using sports to heal traumatised children all his life.
In 2007 Prince Feisal, brother of King Abdullah II, established a Peace Through Sport Committee under the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), of which he is currently the chairman. The aim of this working group is to promote peace-building across Asia.
In that same year, he founded Generations For Peace (GFP) - an organisation that trains youth workers from conflict zones around the world to use sport in unifying youths at the local level. Prince Feisal spoke to IPS about this work.
IPS: Can you explain how Generations For Peace works?
Prince Feisal: Our prime aim is to teach and train local youth workers from conflict zones around the world how they can use sport as a tool to bring children together and unify divided communities.
We find our future peace pioneers through NGOs or regional Olympic committees. After completing a strict selection process, which comprises several interviews, we invite them to a peace camp. One of the main pillars of these camps is an intensive practical and theoretical training programme that touches on various subjects such as peace building, conflict resolution and management, skills that deal with discriminatory behaviour, child protection, sportsmanship and of course sports coaching.
After completing the curriculum, the youth workers are expected to establish their own grass-root organisations that focus on peace building through sport. We support them in this by providing funding, assistance in drafting their project and budget plans, and support in running their projects.
We maintain ongoing contact, monitor their progress and evaluate the programmes. Apart from working with children, the youth workers are expected to share their knowledge with other members of their communities and to train 20 youth workers a year. Our aim with the 'train the trainer' programme is to get as many people involved in peace building as possible.
IPS: How can sport contribute to a more peaceful society?
PF: We believe that sport has the power to bring people together - regardless of their race, religion, tribe, caste, or socio-economic background. Sport is one of the few languages everyone understands, no matter where you are from. It furthermore teaches participants tolerance, self-respect, and team play - among other things. These elements are crucial in unifying people.
We work with children because they, in general, are more flexible then adults. They are not as fixed in their mindsets, and tend to focus more on similarities then on differences.
We foresee that, by playing together, children slowly but surely will learn to see each other as equals, as individuals, as team mates, as friends - not as 'the other ones' or the enemy. This mindset will hopefully be passed on to their children and grandchildren.
IPS: What if parents do not allow their children to play with each other?
PF: This is part of the challenge that we face. To overcome this obstacle, we put quite a bit of effort in training our peace pioneers how they can make parents more willing to let their children interact. One can do so by, for instance, involving traditional leaders. However, in general most parents actually allow their children to play together - even if they do not like the thought of it.
A nice detail is that sport competitions between children sometimes lead to greater interaction between the adults who are cheering for their sons and daughters. Of course, we realise that there will always be families that are not willing to overcome their prejudices. That does not mean one should stop trying.
IPS: Have there been success stories so far?
PF: Yes, there have been quite a few. In 2007, after our first peace camp, Sudanese delegates established a peace-through-sport working group within their national Olympic Committee.
Shortly afterwards, as part of the third anniversary celebrations of the Sudanese peace treaty, they arranged for a women's basketball team from the north to play with the women's basketball team from the south. The event took place in a big stadium and was witnessed by thousands of supporters from both sides. It was a huge success. Something like this used to be considered impossible.
IPS: There are quite a few initiatives out there that use sport as a tool for peace building. What makes GFP different?
PF: The key difference between GFP and other organisations is the cascading effect. Take our train the trainer programme, for example. It means that you might start off with one person working with children and teach them about sport and peace, but growing to 20 trainers in a year's time.
We are also a very sustainable organisation. We do not dish out money and leave the grass-root projects to be established on their own. We remain involved, always.
People do ask me sometimes why I am doing this, as there are so many sports and peace building initiatives out there already. I actually believe we don't have enough such projects. I think that any project that brings people together and promotes peace, understanding and tolerance is necessary. Especially in this day and age in which you only have to switch on your TV to see all the violence in the world.
The global economic turmoil will fuel more violence. Usually, when the going gets tough people tend to blame their problems on everyone else. People become less tolerant, less respectful. This often results in violence. That is why we need to double our efforts to combat this trend.
This is exactly why we need to get far more people involved in making the world a better place by promoting peace. Together we can make a difference. Eventually we will get there. We just start with one child and youth worker at a time.
© Inter Press Service (2009) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service