The entities have commemorated the International Day of Sport for Development with the organization by a sports day for children at the High Performance Center of the Consejo Superior de Deportes in Madrid, and at a forum on Sport and International Cooperation, held at the headquarters of the government agency.

18 April 2024.- The Alliance of Civilizations of the United Nations (UNAOC), the Youth Sports foundation of the Superior Council of Sports and Futbol Mas in Spain, have developed different actions linked to the initiative ‘Sport for One Humanity’, and the recent celebration of the ‘International Day of Sport for Development ‘, the 6th of April.

The campaign ‘Sport for One Humanity’ main objective is to support grassroots sports projects that promote peace, mutual understanding and cooperation among diverse communities and cultures around the world, and to give visibility to sport for development. This action aims to highlight and prioritize projects that promote diversity and inclusion; education; the empowerment of girls, boys, youth and women; and the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies through sport.

In the framework of the initiative, has taken place the day ‘Promoting Development and Peace through Sport’in the Room Samaranch of the Higher Sports Council, with the participation of prominent speakers in the field of international cooperation.

The director-general of the Youth Sports Foundation, Felix Jordán de Urríes, he has been in charge of opening the forum, highlighting “the profound transformative impact of the sport in the communities and in the lives of people around the world.”

“The sport -added- it is an instrument for promoting peaceful societies and inclusive, and discussion forums as we celebrate are a boost to discuss challenges, share best practices and to exploit all the opportunities of collaboration with the aim of contributing to the global efforts towards sustainable development and peace to encourage positive social change. This initiative, organized by the three entities demonstrated the commitment of the Youth Sports Foundation to promote the Objectives of Sustainable Development and promote human rights and peace through sport”.

The first round table, ‘Sport as a tool of change’, has included the interventions of the writer and advisor to NGOS Chema Caballero; the olympic athlete and a social worker Aaui Bokesa, and the president of the Fundaciò Esport Solidari International, Josep Maldonado.

Then, the ex professional international rugby player, the president and founder of PGR NGO Patricia Garcia, she has given the presentation ‘Sowing Values: The Essence of Free Rugby’, and highlighted the importance of generating projects involving sustainable development being the education and the entrepreneurship, the epicenter of the action and the engine of social transformation. Patricia Garcia has also pointed out that it is essential to create models of self-sustaining to be able to extrapolate the acquired knowledge and to empower the beneficiary communities. 

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For its part, the Executive director of Futbol Mas in Spain, Aitor Hernández, presented the Futbol Mas activity report of 2023, explaining the impact and the projects of the organization in Spain. Which shows that Futbol Mas has worked with more than 4,400 children, young people and families, through the different projects carried out in Spain and other countries of the EU. Futbol Mas, through its methodology, creates safe and secure spaces for children and their families, where they work on thematic issues such as gender equality, the inclusion of migrants and refugees, the physical and emotional well being or education.

The the coordinator of the area of Sports UNAOC, Raquel Gámez, closed the day, concluding with a call to action to promote inclusion and peace through sport, in line with the principles of the One Humanity campaign. She highlighted the transformative power of sport, reminding us that commitment and passion can drive meaningful change in our communities and societies, underlining the importance of intercultural dialogue and collaboration in building more harmonious and respectful societies. She also emphasized the need to continue working in partnership with sport stakeholders and organizations to achieve a sustainable impact on local and international communities.

In addition, the High Performance Center of the Consejo Superior de Deportes in Madrid hosted a second action, in this case a sports day that brought together more than 50 boys and girls participating in one of Futbol Mas Spain's socio-sports projects. They all enjoyed different activities in which, through games and the social and sports methodology of Futbol Mas, they were able to work and reflect on the rights of children and the positive values of sport. In addition, they visited the pavilions, training rooms and multi-sport courts. Facilities that are prepared for the practice of 25 sports modalities, and host an average of 1,000 high-level athletes.