The Kick Project

Pic: footage.framepool.com Final in our five-part series on how sport for development and peace works. EXAMPLE 5: SPORT IS FUN The regenerative power of having fun, particularly for younger members of a community, should not be underestimated. In situations where children are forced to witness the cruelest, most unjust, violent or depraved manifestations of human behaviour many experience alarmingly, if understandable, high levels of stress and mental health disorders. Being able to release the tension and to revert to being children again may be all a given child needs to begin to find his/her way back to a normal life. Moreover, introducing children and youths to the fun aspects of life, such a sport, in a well-structured context, can head-off generational attachments to dispute and possibly war. Children who are exposed to children from groups and communities with whom their parents may be, or have been, or may yet be, at war can lift the level of relationships to a more...

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...

Pic credit: simonstacpoole.wordpress.com We've been thinking a lot about the Sustainable Development Goals which were launched in late September. As an organisation that seeks to address issues of poverty, inequality and social development, we are both impressed by the scope of the SDGs and a little frustrated that they are needed at all. However, we are supportive of the initiative and we believe they will engender positive change. In fact, as readers of this blog will know, we are of the opinion that sport has, or should have, a powerful influence on meeting the 17 intended outcomes of the SDGs. The Kick Project's founder, James Rose, wrote a comment piece for Online Opinion, which we hope will make a contribution to the examination of the relationship between sport and the SDGs. You can read the full article here .

The realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to follow the Millennium Development Goals, is one of those poster moments in global geo-politics. It seems the planet has finally come together to foster a beautiful world of lightness and love, safety and security. Of course, the reality is nothing like that. The world will likely go on its muddled and confused way, throwing up undeserving winners even as it it throws down innocent losers. That's not being cynical. It's just an acceptance of the human condition. Sure, humanity can be wonderful. But it can also be brutal. Those truths are unlikely to change. But, let's look on the up side. The balance can be shifted in favour of the more positive aspects and this is the value of documents such as the SDGs. That's where we come in. For us here at The Kick Project, the SDGs present a real opportunity to further ensure sport is in the tool box of solutions to poverty, conflict and community breakdown. ...

Pic:Motortradesindustry.co.uk Recently, I (James) was asked by Ray Gill, editor of The Daily Review, to write up a piece on The Kick Project, what it's about, and why anybody should be interested. Here's what I wrote .