Second UNOSDP Youth Leadership Camp concludes

The UNOSDP Youth Leadership Camp held from 18-28 June aimed to give youngsters the knowledge and impetus to develop sport programmes in their own countries. 03 Jul 2012

The Second UNOSDP Youth Leadership Camp brought together 26 young people from Sub-Saharan Africa and Palestinian Territories.

ⒸIPC

By IPC

“The camp has created a platform for all of us from different parts of the globe to come together and share experiences on how sport can contribute to development and peace.”

The 2nd 'UNOSDP Youth Leadership Camp' concluded on Thursday (28 June) at the Sportschule Hennef, Germany. After eleven days of intensive activities, 26 young people from Sub-Saharan Africa and the Palestinian Territories enhanced their skills on how to use sport to address social change. With the conclusion of the camp, the participants headed back home, with all expressing confidence that the camp has been a “transformative learning experience.”

“The camp has created a platform for all of us from different parts of the globe to come together and share experiences on how sport can contribute to development and peace,” said 23-years old Cynthia Coredo, one of the three participants from Kenya.

As for the 2nd UNOSDP Youth Leadership Camp, throughout the eleven days of the camp, the participants and their instructors covered a series of important issues related to the UN Millennium Development Goals, with each day being dedicated to a different thematic focus. Gender equality and the inclusion of persons with a disability were particularly high on the agenda, with a 50:50 ratio at the camp between female and male participants and three participants with an impairment.

The participants – coming from South Africa, Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, Lesotho, Botswana, Rwanda and the Palestinian Territories – had been invited to participate in the camp by the UN Office on Sport for Development and Peace (UNOSDP) after a thorough selection process.

Wilfried Lemke, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace, whose UN office is leading this initiative, said: “This camp at Sportschule Hennef has been a fantastic example to showcase how sport can contribute to a better world. I have been especially impressed with the aspect of inclusion, and have seen first hand how sport has contributed to inclusion and integration between the participants themselves.

“Now it is essential that the participants return to their organizations and communities and implement what they have learned here in Hennef,” he continued. “We will continue to support and communicate with these young leaders in order that they can make a real difference in their communities. Finally, I would like to thank all of the participants, the trainers as well as our partners and donors for making this second camp a tremendous success.”

The tailor-made curriculum of the camp was designed jointly by UNOSDP and the NGO ‘Right To Play International’, with the active support and participation of experts from the International Paralympic Committee, the International Judo, Basketball and Table Tennis Federations, Bayer 04 Leverkusen and their partner Scort Foundation, the German development agency GIZ, the German Sport University Cologne and the NGOs Boxgirls International and Play & Train. Sportschule Hennef hosted the camp.