Fighting for peace in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro
A recipient of an IOC Sport for All Award and grant in 2013, Fight for Peace is a non-governmental organisation founded in 2000 and located in the favelas (Maré) in Rio de Janeiro – the host city of the 2016 Olympic Games. In partnership with the Brazilian Olympic Committee, the IOC supports Fight for Peace’s Maré Academy through its “Community Champions” project. Using boxing and martial arts, combined with education and personal development, this project aims to realise the potential of young people and coaches in communities affected by crime, violence and social exclusion. Fight for Peace thereby provides young people with the tools, resilience and support structures they need to become life champions and create positive futures for themselves. In addition, workshops for coaches from other low-income communities in Rio de Janeiro are held to teach them about the Olympic values.
Preventing youth violence in Colombia: a joint IOC-War Child project
In Colombia, the IOC teamed up with NGO War Child for a two-year project, reaching out to more than 11,000 children and young people in 39 schools in the indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities in the rural zones of Corinto, Northern Colombia. Multi-sport activities were used, along with a methodology that combines the development of life skills with the promotion of peaceful coexistence, to enhance social cohesion and to prevent violence among children and the community. Specifically-trained community sports leaders were in charge of implementing the programme, which included tournaments.
Building resilience through sport in violence-affected communities of Jamaica
In partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Jamaican Red Cross and the Jamaican Olympic Committee, the IOC supports a pilot programme implemented in Jamaican urban communities with a long history of violence. The programme uses sport as a means to strengthen resilience, especially among young people, who typically face barriers to social integration for financial, social or geographical reasons, and who are thus likely to become violent.
The objective is to reduce incidences of violence in communities by implementing an after-school, sports-based development programme for “at-risk” children and young people. The focus is on behavioural change and on expanding opportunities through involvement in sport, improving literacy/numeracy/computer skills, capacities in leadership and conflict management, and offering psychosocial support.
Olympic Truce
The IOC revived the ancient concept of the Olympic Truce that allowed participants to travel to and from the Olympic Games in total safety with a view to protecting the interests of athletes and sport in general. The IOC encourages all UN Member States to sign the Olympic Truce and find peaceful and diplomatic solutions to conflicts around the world.
