Experts from UNODC held a series of discussions in Tajikistan in early-September with Government departments and civil society to promote sport for prevention. Part of the Doha Declaration Global Programme and UNODC's Regional Programme for Central Asia, the discussions presented the possibility of using sport as a vehicle to reduce crime, violence and drug use among at-risk youth through the Line Up Live Up initiative and joined initiatives to raise awareness of the benefits of sport for safe and healthy life styles among young people.
With a view to building youth resilience, UNODC met with a number of key partners in the capital Dushanbe who are working with young people.
Building on the work of the United Nations and others to help at-risk youth in marginalized communities avoid engaging in drugs, crime and violence, UNODC has launched a brand new Line Up Live Up Trainer Manual. Designed to assist coaches, trainers, youth workers and others looking to use sport as a vehicle to help 13 to 18 year olds cope with challenges in everyday life, the Trainer Manual has been designed for use in low resource settings across the globe. The Trainer Manual specifically draws on sport as a positive influence for youth to develop their personal and social skills and aims to increase knowledge about the risks associated with crime, violence and drug use.
Each year on 18 July, South Africans and people living across the world are encouraged to do 67 minutes of good in celebration of the life and principles of Nelson Mandela: 18 July, marking the birthday of the late icon, and 67 minutes to represent 67 years of his life spent in public service. This year, UNODC's Regional Office for Southern Africa partnered with a number of organizations working with children and youth, under the 'Gugulethu United for Youth' coalition to celebrate Nelson Mandela International Day and promote sports and play as tools for social good and peaceful communities. Bringing together young people and communities, this fun-day event was based on the principles of fair play, peace, unity, service, respect and tolerance.
In mid-June, UNODC experts met with a range of Government officials and non-state actors in Kyrgyzstan to explore ways to expand cooperation in tackling crime and drug use through using sports. The meetings, held in the capital Bishkek, were an important step towards rolling-out UNODC's global initiative which aims to prevent delinquency among at-risk youth as part of the Doha Declaration Global Programme as well as the Office's 2015-2019 Regional Programme for Central Asia. The initiative focuses on sports to build resilience of youth by enhancing their life skills and increasing their knowledge of the consequences of crime and drug use.
Under the Doha Declaration Global Programme, UNODC has launched a small grants programme in Brazil to support national Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) active in the field of youth development. Specifically, the organization is looking to engage CSOs that use sport as a vehicle to work with youth in marginalized communities who are at-risk of being involved in crime, violence or drug use. The grants - which will range from US$ 30,000 to US$ 50,000 for a maximum one-year period - will support initiatives that aim to raise awareness on the benefits of sport for the prevention of crime, violence and drugs use among youth through sport initiatives, community mobilization and sensitization activities. In doing so, initiatives that seek to empower youth to disseminate anti-crime and violence messages will be encouraged.
