(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Peninsula
Generation Amazing - a Qatar 2022 legacy programme teamed up with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Flamengo FC to deliver a football development session for impoverished youth in Rio de Janeiro.
The event, which was attended by girls and boys from Campo Grande, Favela do Vidigal and Cidade de Deus, aimed to promote youth empowerment, inclusion and resilience through sport. Participants have previously benefited from UNODC's Line Up, Live Up programme, which uses sport-based initiatives as a tool to prevent youth violence and crime.
Flamengo legend Evaristo de Macedo and Bora Milutinovic, who coached five different nations at FIFA World Cup finals, were among those who attended the event, which took place on the sidelines of Qatar's participation in the Copa America.
Hassan Al Thawadi, Secretary General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), the organisation responsible for delivering the infrastructure and legacy programmes for Qatar 2022, said: 'Generation Amazing and the UNODC are natural partners as both entities seek to positively affect children's lives in areas of the world most in need of assistance.
The event marked a major milestone in terms of beneficiaries for Generation Amazing, which is currently present in seven countries in the Middle East and Asia: Qatar, Nepal, Pakistan, Jordan, Lebanon, the Philippines and India.
'We are proud to announce that Generation Amazing, in collaboration with its strategic partners, has now reached half a million beneficiaries, said Mushtaq Al Waeli, Senior Advisor to the SC Secretary General and Executive Director of Generation Amazing.
He added: 'Reaching 500,000 youth is a major step on our journey to empower and educate the next generation through the inspirational impact of football.
Marco Teixeira, Senior Programme Officer of UNODC's Global Programme for the Implementation of the Doha Declaration, congratulated Generation Amazing on the scope of its outreach.
Teixeira said: 'Youth are placed at the centre of Doha Programme's activities that aim to promote a culture of lawfulness, and to empower young boys and girls to become socially responsible citizens by helping them build life skills to better cope with daily life challenges and move away from involvement in violence, crime or drug use. In this effort, sport has been an important ally, offering a unique vehicle for non-formal education, skill development and the social integration of young people.
The activation contributed to the Generation Amazing objective of positively impacting 1 million lives through football outreach and education by 2022. Generation Amazing has already reached more than 28 disadvantaged communities through its various programmes, including the development of community football pitches and other sporting facilities.
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