PEACE AND SPORT AWARDS 2022

Created in 2008, the annual Peace and Sport Awards reward organizations and individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to peace, dialogue and social stability in the world through sport. From specific field programs to global initiatives, the winners have led projects that are symbolic of sport’s capacity to reconcile divided or opposed communities. They are an inspiration to other stakeholders for what sport can achieve on the global stage.

Awards 2022 All categories

April6 initiative of the year

Rewards individuals and organizations who have contributed to the celebration of April6, the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, through a #WhiteCard initiative or an event that raises awareness on the activation of sport as a tool for development and peace.

NGO of the year

Rewards an NGO or a humanitarian organization that intentionally uses sport-based exercises and equipment adjusted to the local environment to achieve development goals and create a culture of peace, through the transmission of specific values, attitudes and behaviors.

Special Jury Prize

Rewards a significant peace through sport initiative.

Institution of the year

Rewards a public entity, (Government, Region, City…) or a sport institution leading and/or supporting a sustainable program which contributes to the development of peace through sport.

CSR Initiative of the Year

Rewards a company or a foundation that has demonstrated its social commitment through sport and uses its assets and experience to promote peace and good citizenship.

Champion For peace of the year

Rewards an athlete who has led a meaningful and significant sport initiative towards peaceful change.

APRIL6 INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR Winner & Nominees

The Fundación Alfredo Harp Helú para el Deporte led a comprehensive and massive mobilization to celebrate the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace. Over 60 activities and sporting events were organized in urban and rural areas across Mexico, benefiting thousands of girls, boys, adults and disabled people. More than 80 Sports Ambassadors joined the mobilization, raising awareness about April6 and the #WhiteCard symbol. The initiative sparked a discussion in Mexico’ Senate Chamber to improve national public policies regarding health, development and peaceful change through sport.

Visit Website

Arman is an 11 years old boy from Islamabad, Pakistan and Riaan is an 8 years old boy from Kolkata, India. By raising their #WhiteCards, they sparked a message of hope, dialogue and peace through on the occasion of the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace. Through this symbolic gesture, they were not just making a gesture of peace and friendship towards each other, but for their countries, and the world, highlighting how sport can and should unite and foster dialogue. Their joint video on social media got an important media coverage in South Asia.

Every year, the Estonian Olympic Committee mobilizes its community to celebrate the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace and dedicates the #WhiteCard symbol to a special topic, to show tolerance, caring, and positive attitude. In 2022, athletes called everyone to support Ukrainian refugees with the message #üheskoos (#together), showing unity against the violence and war, and emphasizing the human rights, tolerance, and solidarity. Ukrainian children were also invited to join local sport clubs, highlighting the role of sport for inclusion.

Visit website

Fundación Alfredo Harp Helú para el Deporte: 6 ‘till the 6th

Arman and Riaan: #WhiteCard India-Pakistan

Estonian Olympic Committee: Üheskoos (Together)

CSR INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR Winner & Nominees

Rewards a company or a foundation that has demonstrated its social commitment through sport and uses its assets and experience to promote peace and good citizenship.

Les Eaux Minérales d’Oulmès has put young girls’ education at the forefront of its corporate social responsibility roadmap. The “Empowering girls through football” program, conducted with Tibu Africa, offers girls opportunities to have access to sports in safe infrastructures, sustained by pedagogical support in the critical transition phase from childhood to adolescence. Thanks to the program, over 1250 young girls developed technical and soft-skills, including confidence, sociability, productivity, and leadership. It also contributed to reduce school drop-out rates, and to raise awareness on sport as vehicle for social inclusion and development.

Visit Website

Dragones de Lavapiés is a women led football club that mirrors the diversity of this neighbourhood in Madrid: its 320 members come from more than 50 different countries. The project aims to give the youth tools to express themselves and channel violence into creation using sports and art. 150 youth who faced discrimination are selected to become “Influencers”. They participate in sport training, art workshops and sessions with public figures and are encouraged to become role models for their peers. Results include reduced youth’s approval of violence and more peaceful relations with peers and parents. Adidas contributed to the project by donating clothing and sneakers, fostering youth’s sense of belonging.

Visit Website

As the automaker's philanthropic arm, Ford Fund has been supporting local communities for more than 70 years. The “YD-Maj For Equal Play” project, conducted with Tibu Africa, targets the inclusion of young people with disabilities aged between 10 and 16 years old. It contributes to their social inclusion through sport while relying on a program that offers support focused on building self-esteem, changing the perception of youth with disabilities, and preparing them for life challenges. The project also provides psychological support sessions for mothers. Results include reduced school drop-outs and healthier and less violent behaviours.

Visit website

Dragones de Lavapies, Mandela Project: Lavapiés Influencers School

Ford Motor Company Fund: YD-Maj for Equal Play

Les Eaux Minérales d’Oulmès: Empowering girls through football

NGO OF THE YEAR Winner & Nominees

4-H Zimbabwe Foundation’s mission is to empower and capacitate youth to be responsible, caring and contributing leaders that effect positive change in the world around them. The project aims to foster engagement and unite traditionally divergent community groups by organizing sport tournaments involving different communities, political parties, students’ unions, and security forces. Members of the Police are invited to participate in the tournaments as players or referees, to smoothen the relations and improve the perception within communities. Community coaches and Peace Ambassadors are identified among the different parties and are responsible to organize games and awareness raising sessions on the role of sport for tolerance, social cohesion and peace building.

Visit Website

Fundación GOLEES create spaces for social transformation where girls and women in social vulnerability can develop holistically through football. The project aimed to create a structure of female teams from different indigenous communities in Costa Rica, support their gradual self-management, and make female players aware of their human rights to reduce teen-pregnancies rates. Intercommunity tournaments with mixed players, intercultural tournaments with players from urban areas and educational sport camps are organized as part of the project turning female players into agents of personal, family and community change.

Visit Website

Luta pela Paz uses boxing and martial arts to help realise the potential of young people living in communities affected by inequality and violence, like the Maré Favela in Rio de Janeiro. The project aims to build young people’s resilience to the context they live in, and support them to build the foundations to lead peaceful, positive and productive lives. It combines boxing and martial arts classes with personal development sessions focusing on the promotion of tolerance and non-violence, and workshops on favela identity, race/ethnicity, gender/sexuality, amongst other topics. It also provides mentoring for those facing risk factors to involvement in/victimisation by violence. Results include increased mental well-being and increased female participation despite the patriarchal norms of the favela.

Visit website

4-H Zimbabwe Foundation: Sport4Peace and political tolerance

Fundación GOLEES: Alakäläwa GOLEES

Luta pela Paz: Maré United

INSTITUTION OF THE YEAR Nominees

Rewards a public entity, (Government, Region, City…) or a sport institution leading and/or supporting a sustainable program which contributes to the development of peace through sport.

Birmingham City Council used the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth games as a catalyst to accelerate the city’s response to its challenges and the aspirations of its ethnically diverse population. The “Be Bold Be Birmingham” community engagement and legacy program contributed to strengthening connections between different communities, and sustaining their involvement in the Games and beyond. Through a £6 Million Community Fund the City Council enabled civil society actors to run 322 projects focused on improving physical and mental well-being and reducing loneliness and social isolation through sport. Furthermore, the Fund supported 106 projects engaging under-represented communities in the city’s cultural activities, linking culture and sport in new and exciting ways.

Visit Website

The National Olympic Committee of Denmark is contributing to the inclusion of vulnerable groups into local sport clubs using sport as a lever for social cohesion and integration into society. The purpose is getting refugee children as well as veterans to integrate sports communities, to support their path away from isolation into civil life, enhancing self-confidence and coping capabilities. Veterans were involved in over 35 veteran matches organized within the official football, handball and ice hockey leagues. Furthermore, the NOC works with more than 50 companies from all around Denmark allowing veterans to take part into job matches events, with 50% success rates for the participants. Over 2050 refugee children were accompanied in their registration process into local sport clubs (fees, uniforms, equipment).

Visit Website

The project aims to empower girls and young women to defend themselves from all forms of gender-based violence through Karate training. Several activities are put in place on the occasion of major Karate events, including Karate and self-defence workshops implemented for girls and women from local vulnerable communities, Karate demonstrations involving renown and committed athletes to raise awareness on gender-based violence. The project also aims to train female coaches and create dedicated committees in each Karate Federation member of the WKF. Run in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund and the Koyamada International Foundation the project provides a powerful example of major sporting events’ legacy.