2008 GLOBAL PEACE GAMES FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH

REGISTRATION FORM

Name of Organization Registered


City and Country where Games will take place


Anticipated Date of Games


Name of Responsible Person for Registration

  • E-mail address
  • Telephone
  • Postal address



Report on the Games: After the games are held, a brief one/two paragraph report must be prepared. It should be received by PLAY SOCCER by December 1, 2008 in order to be included in the report on the 2008 Games.

The Report should describe the Games event and the activities that took place, including the following information:
  • the numbers of children and youth that took part
  • where and when the event took place
  • the numbers of signatures on the Manifesto for a Culture of Peace
  • the names of other organizations that joined the event
Both the Registration Form and the report that is prepared after the Games should be returned to PLAY SOCCER at playsocnonprofit@aol.com. Contact us for assistance to answer any questions or to obtain a French or Spanish version of this document.

INSTRUCTIONS
for the
2008 GLOBAL PEACE GAMES FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH

What are the Global Peace Games for Children and Youth?
The Global Peace Games for Children and Youth are an annual event that takes place at the grassroots level in communities in all parts of the world through the initiative of civil society.

The Games are locally planned and financed community events. They feature friendly soccer matches and/or other sporting events along with educational presentations, music, art, dance or poetry around themes dedicated to the objectives of the United Nations for peace, nonviolence and human development. The Games seek to develop the leadership skills and individual responsibility of children and youth, and to help them learn how through sport and ordinary daily life actions and decisions, they can make the world a better place for all. They demonstrate the solidarity and commitment that sport can create among children, youth and communities for this purpose.

The themes of the Games support the goals of the United Nations, which proclaimed the children of the world as the central focus of the 2001-2010 International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence. They educate about and show support for peaceful solutions, and aim to build global friendship and understanding, consistent with the objective of the United Nations International Day of Peace. They support the United Nations Millennium Development Goals that seek to improve human life through eight development priorities:

  1. reduction of poverty and hunger
  2. achievement of universal primary education
  3. promotion of gender equality
  4. reduction of child mortality
  5. improvement of maternal health
  6. reversal of the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis
  7. environmental sustainability
  8. development of a global partnership for development.

Who Can Take Part in the Games?
Participation in the Games is free and open to all who wish to take part. Communities, civil society organizations and governments are invited to organize and enjoy the games and events in their own countries and locations, limited only by their own local constraints of financing, organizing and planning capacity. Different organizations can hold multiple Games in the same country at different sites. Participating communities and organizations select their own sites.

WHO IS ORGANIZING THE GAMES?
At the international level, PLAY SOCCER, a non-governmental, not-for-profit sport for development organization provides the leadership to initiate and organize the Games in strong partnership with SOS ChildrenŐs Villages and other organizations such as Right to Play that wish to assist to promote the Games around the world. Any organization that wishes to become part of this effort is invited to join and should contact PLAY SOCCER at: playsocnonprofit@aol.com

PLAY SOCCER is responsible for coordinating with all participating organizations in the coalition and to liaise with the relevant United Nations Offices, FIFA and Football for Hope and other international entities.

At the local level, it is up to the participants to organize the Games and to liaison with PLAY SOCCER.

In a number of countries, SOS Children's Villages have sports fields that were financed by FIFA. These sites will be available and utilized for the Games in collaboration with the participating SOS Children's Village of that country .The FIFA for SOS Children's Villages Ambassadors will also be involved whenever possible to participate in the Games. Football for Hope, the corporate social responsibility initiative of FIFA that is implemented in strategic alliance with streetfootballworld may also be involved.

The Games are not sponsored by the United Nations, are not a commercial event, have no financial sponsorship, and are not intended to be used for any fundraising purposes.

When will the Games be held?
The Games should be held in the fall, preferably around the date of 21 September which is the United Nations International Day of Peace. However, the timing of the Games can be adjusted for local schedules and does not need to be any specific day or month. Communities may plan the events to take place over several days or longer periods if they wish. The Games should be completed by the 15 November 2008.

What resources are needed to hold the Games?
Each participant plans, organizes and finances its own event according to its own resources. No funding resources are available other than those made available locally from the participating organization(s).

The Games should be kept LOW cost - resources need not be spent on elaborate events. It does not matter how small or how large the community or how simple the event. What is important is that children and youth gather together for this event and give some thought and expression to the themes of the Games.

What activities take place at the Games?
Participating organizations and communities plan the kinds of games and other activities they want to have for their own event. However, to provide the global link among all sites, there are three (3) activities that are included wherever the Games are held. They are the following:

  1. SIGNING THE MANIFESTO for PEACE
    All participants are given the opportunity to sign the Manifesto that was drafted for UNESCO by Nobel Peace Laureates. The Manifesto is a written pledge, as outlined below. Each community prepares its own copy, in the language of their choice.

    The Manifesto asks each person to make the following pledge:
    I pledge in my daily life, in my family, my work, my community, my country and my region to:

  2. READING THE SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM THE UNITED NATIONS
    In late August, all participating organizations will be sent a special message from the Special Advisor to the Secretary General of the United Nations on Sport for Development and Peace. All participants will also receive a special message from the President of FIFA. Participants are encouraged to read this special message at the beginning of the Games.

  3. GIVING THE HANDSHAKE OF FRIENDSHIP
    All sites are also encouraged to have participants exchange a handshake of friendship, a gesture that can extend the message of global friendship and the culture of peace and non-violence.

What is the action plan before and after the Games?
Each organization should inform PLAY SOCCER as soon as they decide they will participate in the Games. This information should be sent to playsocnonprofit@aol.com preferably by the end of August 2008. This will insure that sites receive the special message from the United Nations Special Advisor on Sport for Development and Peace and any other updates to the Instructions for the Games.

An educational session(s) in advance of the event can be helpful to educate participating children and youth about the significance of their participation and to explain the themes of the Games. All are encouraged to think about and ask the question "What does peace mean to me" and to find ways at the Games to express their thoughts, for example through photos, drawings, discussions, or other presentations, to show how sport can promote peace, tolerance and understanding. Each participating organization is encouraged to focus on the themes from the Manifesto and from the United Nations Millennium Development Goals that are most relevant to their communities.

After all the Games around the world have taken place, PLAY SOCCER will prepare the 2008 Report on the Global Peace Games for Children and Youth, and the Certificate of Participation. The Report and Certificate of Participation will be presented to the Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace. The presentation will be made by PLAY SOCCER on behalf of the participants all over the world so that children and youth know that their signatures on the Manifesto and their efforts for peace and global friendship are recognized, and that their voices have been heard and can make a difference for the future.

In order to prepare the Report and the Certificate, PLAY SOCCER needs to receive the brief report from EACH participating organization about the Games that were held at their site. The report should identify the site by location and country, state the number of signatures obtained on the Manifesto, the number of participating children and youth, the names of other local organizations that participated, and give a brief overview description of the event. It can be in the local language or in English. For examples of reports in previous years, please refer to the Report on the 2007 Global Peace Games which can be seen on the web site: www.playsoccer-nonprofit.org

The reports from the participating organizations and sites should be brief and concise and if possible, contain a few digital pictures in jpeg format. This report must be received by December 1, 2008 to be included in the Report on the Games and on the Certificate of Participation. The report and jpeg pictures should be sent electronically to playsocnonprofit@aol.com by December 1. Pictures and reports can be sent by regular mail but must also be received by this date. The mailing address is PLAY SOCCER, P.O. Box 106, Princeton, New Jersey 08542-0106, USA.

Please note that the Manifesto with the signatures does not need to be sent. Many sites retain and display it within the community. Only the information about the number of signatures as described above should be included in the report.

The Report on the Global Peace Games for Children and Youth and the 2008 Certificate will be electronically distributed and available to participating organizations and individuals. It will be available to download from the PLAY SOCCER web site at www.playsoccer-nonprofit.org and upon request, will also be sent as a CD.

Play Soccer and other partners in the organizing Coalition will seek publicity for the Global Peace Games for Children and Youth through the international media. The coalition encourages, but is not responsible for media coverage at the local level. The intent of publicity is to spotlight the advocacy and alliance of children and youth across nations and cultures. The Coalition will welcome assistance from participating organizations to develop such global publicity as well as to develop shared with the Coalition at the PLAY SOCCER email address noted above.



Please direct any further questions about the 2008 Global Peace Games for Children and Youth to the following email addresses:

playsocnonprofit@aol.com and check the website www.playsoccer-nonprofit.org for periodic information updates.

For information specifically related to sites at SOS Children's Villages please contact:orlaith.king@sos-kd.org