In its ongoing efforts to reduce the risk of anti-social behaviour amongst its large youth population, and to help young people stay away from crime and drug use, Uganda has partnered with UNODC to use sports and physical education to that end. Preparations have started with a programming mission last week, piloting UNODC's evidence-informed life skills training "Line Up, Live Up", with the support of key Ugandan government and civil society actors.
Working in close cooperation with Uganda's Ministry of Education and Sport, other UN partners like UNESCO, and non-governmental actors, UNODC will build the capacity of sport coaches and social workers to incorporate "Line Up, Live Up" sessions in their programmes in the months to come.
As part of UNODC's work in promoting sport as a valuable tool for youth crime prevention, sports and education experts from ten different countries met in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in late-November. With participants from across the globe attending, the study visit served as an ideal opportunity to bring together a diverse group in order to share best practices and familiarize them with the methodology of UNODC's life skills sports-based training programme - Line Up Live Up.
The week featured a series of interactive presentations, roundtable discussions and site visits to observe innovative ways to engage at-risk youth by using sport as a vehicle for both diversion and social-change.
In late-October, UNODC, the Kyrgyz State Agency on Youth, Physical Culture and Sports, and Bishkek City Mayor's Office teamed up to deliver a three-day pilot training-course for sports trainers and physical education school teachers to implement the Line Up Live Up curriculum for at-risk youth.
The training is part of UNODC's global work aimed at providing teachers with tools that assists them in further delivering sport-oriented trainings on life skills: an integral part of crime prevention among youth. Some 23 coaches and physical education schoolteachers, selected by the Kyrgyz and Tajik authorities, were trained on the Line Up Live Up methodology through a set of interactive sessions based on a UNODC-developed Trainer Manual.
UNODC and local authorities in Brazil and South Africa teamed up in September to begin training of sports trainers for the implementation of the Line Up Live Up curriculum for youth crime and drug use prevention. Some 43 coaches from sport centres in Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, as well as from after-school programmes in Cape Town, South Africa were trained on the Line Up Live Up methodology through a set of interactive sessions.
During the sessions, particular attention was given to processing, which forms a key component of the training as it facilitates learning by allowing youth to link the knowledge and skills that they acquire during the various activities to challenges they face in everyday life.
Situated in the southern Batken province of Kyrgyzstan, the municipality of Kulundu sits on the border with Tajikistan in Central Asia. Home to around 25,000 people, the residents in this remote, rural area mostly earn their living by engaging in agriculture and cross-border trade. With limited employment opportunities, however, young people often face a range of challenges.
Within this context, UNODC is working to use sport as a vehicle to promote valuable life skills among youth. Under the Doha Declaration Global Programme, the organization is engaging youth who are at risk of violence, drugs and crime, with Kyrgyzstan one of the pilot countries where awareness raising sports initiatives will be conducted.
