The Kick Project

Our latest article, run on the Sport and Development website, on the peace potential in the dispute between Israeli settlers and the Palestinian Football Association. "It's disappointing FIFA has so far chosen not to lead on the issue of Israeli settlement teams playing in Palestinian West Bank. This is a real opportunity for the beleaguered overseer to take a stance, especially as it appears doing so would simply be by enforcing its own rules..."( more )....

Pic: www.sportanddev.org Our founder James ran an article in today's Huffington Post, on the occasion of Anzac Day here in Australia. "The power of sport to provide a form of sustenance in times of deadly peril is recognised globally, not just by Australians. In fact, sport has proven to be not only a means of maintaining war, but of aiding peace. In conflict zones across the world, sport has been a presence as a vehicle to co-operate, work together, build bridges and to get along." You can read the full article here .

Pic: blog.drstankovich.com Part IV of our series on how sport for development and peace works/ EXAMPLE 4: SPORT CAN BE USED AS A FOCAL POINT In many societies sports clubs are used as central points for the community. Not only can they be the site of actual sporting activity, which in itself brings the community together, the location is often seen as a proxy space for both formal and informal community gatherings. Sport, therefore, can act as a kind of motivator, a centripetal force for disconnected communities, which brings individuals together to share a common, fun, interest. This may engender a sense of motivation or even pride among disadvantaged communities. In practice, this means that sports clubs can be readily utilised to act as spaces for both curriculum and community education (such as physical and mental health care) or as meeting spaces for competing groups. The actual practice of sport can act to lighten moods and expend energy which might otherwise be u...

Part III of our series on how sports for development and peace works. EXAMPLE 3: SPORTS IS BASED ON SHARED RULES AND AGREED OUTCOMES It is one of the characteristics of war and many forms of violence that there is an absence of normal, commonly accepted rules. Sport offers an alternative to this. Being in a contained area which, while contested, is nevertheless bound by rules and conventions, and is adjudicated by a recognised and impartial referee goes some way towards ensuring that those used to, or who are seeking, a world without norms and without rules can be countered, both conceptually and literally. The similarities football, and some other sports, share with peace talks and other forms of dispute resolution are manifest. At another level, playing in a team with others with whom an individual might have been obliged to fight and or to hate, can provide ground on which mutual understanding and compassion can be gained. The most basic rule of football is that hand...

Part II in our five-part series on how sport for development and peace works. In this short piece, we look at the inherent peace-building and peace-making characteristics of sport. Example 2: SPORT IS A PEACEFUL ACTIVITY Football is our go-to sport. There's a few reasons for that. For instance, its the most international sport we know, it's easily understood, it can be played by anyone and it takes little equipment or set-up. But another important reason we like to go with football is that it has certain characteristics that make it particularly useful as a peace tool. Take the shape of the game. It flows and shifts, moving over the whole field in a series of fluid movements. There are no lines or obstacles on the field itself to stop movement and flow. Every part of the field is used and anyone can go to any part of the field at any time. This shape ensures that the space is shared. Players go in and out of each other's physical space constantly. Players must...

Pic: abc.net.au Some of us from The Kick Project team were in a meeting with potential partners recently, when we were asked a question about “Proof of Concept” of sport for development and peace. The context of the question was that we were talking about sport for development and peace - especially football - but we weren't putting the pieces together. As she said, “It's all good. But I don't see how this works. How does sport and football generate peace and development? What's the proof of concept ?” It made us think: it can be easy when you're working away on your stuff to lose touch of your context. In this case, this person was someone who wrote grant applications. She wanted to know how she would sell our concept to attract funding. Completely fair enough. So, we (hopefully) addressed her concerns at the time and took her concern on notice for next time we spoke. Debriefing afterwards, we realised there may be others out there who don't quite see t...

Pic: Reuters With the deadly attacks in Paris and in Beirut in November still in the headlines, it is easy to concentrate on the problems, not on solutions. Even as we mourn for the victims of these crimes, and question the justification for such acts, let us not lose sight of the fact that humanity, for all its apparent hatred and evil, is also imbued with the ability to make peace and find love. And sport is one of the most powerful means of realising these positives. The evidence for this is, to some extent, embedded within the acts of terrorism themselves. For decades, terror groups have targetted major sporting events for their campaigns. It is no shock, in historical terms, for instance, that the terrorists behind the Paris attacks honed in on the Stade de France where a friendly football match between France and Germany was being played. This simply follows a pattern that has existed since at least the murders of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. ...

Pic: News24 Distressing news coming out regarding a lost generation of children, victims of the war in Syria. Human Rights Watch has released its report into Syrian refugees in Turkey and finds that as many as 400,000 Syrian children there have no access to education. This is in a context of virtual 100% primary school attendance in Syria pre-civil war and high levels of high school attendance as well as good scores on educational ratings, such as literacy. This is what war does. It may be easy to blame Turkey for this situation. But, this country has taken in around 2 million Syrians fleeing violence and a broken country. Rather than blame Turkey - and blame is not a word we like much here, anyway - maybe we should all look at what are we doing as individuals, and at what are our governments and the international bodies that represent us doing about this. This appears evidence that more needs to be done. It's not about blame, but about finding solutions.* We take a b...

One year on from the escalation of violence in Gaza and things are still looking very sour.  A news quote from Save the Children CEO Paul Ronalds is pertinent: "Save the Children is urging Australia and other nations to use their diplomatic influence to promote the lifting of the blockade to allow the entry of essential humanitarian aid and enable the rebuilding of homes and schools, and support a return to some level of normality for the many distressed children in Gaza.” The Kick Project is still working hard to take a program to Gaza. But, these plans have been re-scheduled for various reasons. Mainly, the program has proved to be a little more complicated than we had anticipated and we have re-focussed on plans for our Rohingya program in Malaysia. We feel that at this early stage of our development as a not for profit organisation we need to build more critical mass in our funding and our management infrastructure before launching into Gaza. We are wary of wast...

Pic: Padawanloser.blogspot.com.au Here at The Kick Project, we are always looking for ways we can combine our desire for positive change with the current systems and structures that are available. |This article, which argues for infusing the institutions and infrastructure we currently work to, with love, is right up our alley. The article is taken from a great series currently running in Open Democracy called Transformation . We here say that children have a right to have fun. We all have a right to love as well. https://www.opendemocracy.net/transformation/max-harris-philip-mckibbin/all-you-need-is-politics-of-love

A nice audio piece from the BBC on an historic football competition in The Aleutian Islands, known as the International Friendship Cup dating back to 1872. Also this piece by the same journo.

Pic from Syria from frankborstart.com The UN has released some figures on its peace-keeping efforts worldwide. While the organisation does what it can, it is clear that it - the pre-eminent peace-keeping organisation in the world - is far from making even a scratch on the surface of global conflict.  These figures confirm our reasons for being. There are 16 current conflicts the UN is working in around the world. The oldest is on the India-Pakistan border (in place since 1949), the newest in the central African republic (2014). Since 1948, there have been 71 UN peace-keeping operations and so, today, just under 23% of all the peace-keeping operations voted as necessary by the UN in 67 years are on-going. The UN says there are 125,396 peace-keepers in the UN's employ (so-called Blue Helmets). The budget for peace-keeping in 2014/15 is $US8.5 billion. It sounds a lot, but consider the following. The total armed personnel in just the top 20 militarised countri...

Here's some of the news that got our attention recently: BORDERS AND PEOPLE: ANOTHER CELEB PITCHES IN TO HELP REFUGEES Pic: wallruru.com CRITIQUE OF ASYLUM SEEKER TREATMENT IN AUSTRALIA SOME SAY EU SHOULD EMULATE AUSTRALIA'S MODEL OTHERS ARGUE EU SHOULD DISMANTLE "VIRTUAL BORDERS" AND MAKE TRAVEL EASIER (COMMENT) Pic: urbantimes.co GAZA PROJECT: GAZA CHILDREN IN CRISIS INTERACTIVE MAP OF THE DESTRUCTION IN GAZA WELFARE OF CHILDREN: BOKO HARAM CAUSING HAVOC FOR CHILDREN SOCCER AND DEVELOPMENT: NEW PORTAL FOR PEACE AND SPORT EVENTS

Pic: The Daily Mail The long-running problem of "soccer hooliganism" has blighted the game for decades. Once again its been in the news with more idiots who call themselves soccer fans acting like Neanderthals again . While soccer often gets lumped with these morons, it is hardly the game's fault that social tensions come out around such common mob activities such as soccer. The problems are with society and with the prejudices that leaders and others in control either encourage or don't do enough to quell. But, the truth is that soccer does attract thuggish behaviour, if only because it exacerbates mob mentality and allows large groups to get together, get boozed up and coalesce around a common cause via simplistic signals like team chants or colours. It is a recipe for trouble. A new approach , more about being pro-active rather than reactive seem to be finding good results. This adaptation sees security working closely with the fans themselves, most of ...

Great insight into the latest African Cup of Nations champions - The Ivory Coast - and the work being done to heal tensions and to divert conflict there and elsewhere through the power and focus of football. The Kick Project is supportive of these efforts and is actively seeking to work with local groups to develop global/local initiatives. We would be keen to hear from local groups worldwide looking to partner up. Maybe we can build a super team for peace-building and reconciliation..... Article from Insight on Conflict here

The Kick Project fully endorses the views of Melissa Fleming from UNHCR on empowering refugees within the camps and settlements to thrive, as per the above TED Talk, (or here if the embed isn't working) given in Rio last October. She speaks mainly of academic education, the kind that leads to degrees and diplomas. Its a totally valid view but I would enhance what she says with a thought for the value of physical education through organised and secure sport. Maths and English may not be for everyone. If fact, if that is the only subjects of education then this may even alienate students. In cases of refugees, these people have been alienated enough. Sport, for me, provides the following important outcomes: Good Health Confidence Interaction Co-operation and Team-work Competing Fairly Hope Fun Pride Trust in Others Direction and Focus Healthy Distraction and Escape Community Engagement I'm sure there are more. That's just off the top of my head...

Are we going the right way? My comment on FIFA and The World Game which ran in today's Courier Mail (Brisbane's main newspaper for those outside the country). It's pay-walled for some reason but here's the full version anyway.  Click on the link if you like it to make your interest known. Note, while this article concentrates on Messrs Blatter and Al-Hussein, two other candidates are running.  " A pparently, the big wigs of the World Game are in town for the Asian Cup. At least two major contenders for this year's FIFA presidential elections, Sepp Blatter and Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein, are here courting support, making deals, shmoozing and maybe even watching a game. Given our fair land is the first battle field of this vital moment in the future of the game, I thought I might take the opportunity to have a word in their ear. Sepp, Ali, lean in. Now, even within its first few days, Asian Cup watchers have witnessed the magic football can mak...

No this is not them....I do have some pics but its a long story about pic files and my phone crashing....don't ask... Took delivery last week of our first batch of used balls and boots for our Gaza campaign. Thirty-five balls and assorted boots of varied sizes were tipped our way by Caloundra City  soccer club. Club Prez Craig Russell told me as we stood in an empty football field as dusk and a storm approached that this is the biggest junior club on the Sunshine Coast, with some 45 teams. The team Craig coaches just fell short of the Grand Final, but finished a credible third in the comp. So, thanks to Craig and the Caloundra City family for their generous donation. Only 965 balls to go to reach our target.... Fortunately, we have received pledges from Kevin Milstein at the Reagan Milstein Foundation , The Sunshine Coast Churches Soccer Association and from Mark Acaster (who has helped us before) at Red Lion Football Tours , so we're gradually on the way to our ...

South Sudanese refugees in Uganda line up. Pic: Dorah Ntunga/Oxfam Some peace initiatives using football have been promoting the cause of peace in East Africa. Both programs, one UN-backed, the other run through Oxfam, speak to the power of the game to generate co-operation through play and fun, always the easiest route for humans to find solutions.... The UN project in Somalia aimed to commemorate World Peace Day later this month. The key message is this, I think, from Somali Football Federation President Abdiqani Said Arab who reportedly "sent a strong message to the UN requesting the world body to pay much attention to football which has so far been used as an element of peace building and yielded positive results." Clunky translation maybe, but you get the point. Not sure however what research Mr Arab may be alluding to as there does not appear to be a lot. Anecdotal evidence is fairly plentiful though and this may be what he was noting. This program in Ug...

Last month commemorated the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War I. This war essentially began the modern era of warfare and began the shift away from simple line v line battles to more complex and changeable theatres of war. It also began the trend towards greater numbers of civilian deaths which continues today. In most wars now civilian casualties outnumber military personnel and wars are fought in largely civilian areas. So, it's pertinent to recall this story of the Christmas Truce of 1914, which included spontaneous soccer/football games between soldiers on both sides of the trenches. Maybe the UN and other bodies vested with generating peace in situations of war really should take off their suits, get out of the negotiating rooms and drop a football in the middle of the warring parties. Word is the EPL is involved in putting on some kind of event to mark the occasion, which has been planned for some time.