Sport for Good
The internationally acclaimed award celebrates social initiatives which have made a significant contribution to transforming the lives of young people through sport.
TeamUp - a play and movement-based intervention developed by Save the Children, UNICEF the Netherlands, and War Child - will be announced as the winner at a star-studded ceremony in Paris tomorrow night.
While we prepare to share the stage with all-time sporting greats, we are particularly humbled by the other inspirational organisations in the Sport For Good category.
Children at the center
War Child Holland CEO Ramin Shahzamani will collect the award alongside Birgit van Delft, Programme Director for TeamUp. “Everything we do is for children”, says Shahzamani. “Therefore, we would like to dedicate this nomination to them - to the 230 million children growing up with the consequences of war and conflict.”
TeamUp was developed in the Netherlands in response to the 2015 refugee influx, quickly gaining a global presence. The tried and tested methodology is currently active in 26 countries everywhere from the Middle East to Africa with the support of a network of expert partners.
A dedicated network of TeamUp facilitators
South Sudan is one example. Thanks to our dedicated network of “TeamUp facilitators”, we have been able to rapidly expand our activities across the country.
"Here in South Sudan we have so many challenges", says Ezekiel, a local TeamUp trainer and facilitator. “We experience blood, war, disaster - man-made and natural. This affects children physically but also mentally.”
“We want children to be children again”, he continues with conviction. “That’s why we have TeamUp. When I run the sessions I see how the environment; the energy positively impacts the children. After the session, we collect data to monitor their progress.
“We also train others to be facilitators, so that we can expand and reach many more children.”
