Making sport an engine for change and a tool for combating educational poverty
THE PROJECT
As part of the Sport for Change programme, Fondazione Milan created “From Milan to the World”, the contest-initiative in partnership with PUMA that saw the participation of six non-profit associations from all continents.
Representing South America, the Gol de Letra Foundation, active since 1998 in Rio de Janeiro, in the Caju district, and in Vila Albertina, in the state of São Paulo, took part in the charity contest. The organisation is committed to accompanying the growth of children and young people, offering them school, educational and work support, in tandem with cultural, recreational and sports activities, with the aim of allowing young people to experience and acquire knowledge not included in the traditional school curriculum. The organisation also aims to provide concrete assistance to the development and growth of local communities, through joint action with schools, teachers, families and workers and third sector organisations, including the national REMS network – Rede Esporte pela Mudança Social – of which the Foundation is a member, and which brings together organisations and institutions that use sport as an engine for social change.
THE PURPOSES
The Gol de Letra Foundation carries out its socio-assistance mission in areas characterised by strong social and economic inequality, an aspect that is sadly characteristic of Brazilian society as a whole, which means that, especially in the most populous states and metropolitan cities such as São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, many children and adolescents grow up without an adequate system of educational, cultural and recreational support.
This means that, especially in the most populous states and metropolitan cities such as São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, many children and adolescents grow up without an adequate system of educational, cultural and recreational support, a lack which then translates into limited possibilities for personal and collective development and growth. For this reason, Gol de Letra is committed to offering the most vulnerable young people support activities aimed at guaranteeing them a proper education, enabling them to cultivate their talents and interests, as well as to develop greater independence and social awareness.
Sport, in particular, is an integral part of the identity and mission of the organisation, which is committed to promoting its educational, social and psychophysical benefits. Sport is therefore a real tool for social change, not only at an individual level, but also at a collective level. In this regard, the proposed project aims to intervene on the community, rather than on the individual, so as to accompany the growth of children through the strengthening of local support systems, thanks to a training course that aims to provide more knowledge and know-how to the various local actors who are already active and use sport as an engine for change and development.
THE BENEFICIARIES
The direct beneficiaries of the initiative are 45 sports instructors/educators who already devote their lives and time to the promotion of sport as an educational tool and a promoter of social cohesion and public health. In fact, the project aims to contribute to the training of practitioners who, despite being very often neglected and excluded from public policies, continue to mobilise communities and work in tandem with different territorial actors to promote education through sport.
In addition, public schools in the target communities will share part of the training with them, in order to achieve greater involvement and cooperation between different bodies that share the same values, methodologies and objectives.
Indirect beneficiaries of the project will be the children and young people of the identified communities, who will enjoy a higher quality and quantity of sports offer dedicated to them, without any distinction of race, origin, gender, ability or socio-economic background.
