For the past five years , with its
Youth Crime Prevention through Sports component , UNODC has focused on engaging youth from marginalized and at-risk communities , promoting sports while inculcating and strengthening positive life skills and values which can help young people better navigate daily challenges in life . These objectives have been molded into the
Line Up , Live Up programme , an evidenceinformed method mixing sports and life-skills training which has already been rolled out in 12 countries . Girls and boys between the ages of 13 and 18 are trained on ways to cope with common challenges , emotional and psychological stress , and they are taught to sharpen their critical thinking , decision making and problemsolving skills . For ten sessions of an hour each , over the course of several weeks , they partake in games , an array of physical activities , and importantly , a debriefing , winding down session to share experiences and lessons learned .
“ Sport alone is not the solution to crime and violence , of course ,” explains Marco Teixeira , Doha Declaration Global Coordinator , “ but we know that it can be very effective in engaging at-risk youth , achieving positive youth development , and providing youth with access to prosocial networks and positive role models .”
To date , more than 14,000 boys and girls around the world have participated in the Line Up , Live Up programme ( of which over 46 per cent were female , with gender parity remaining an ongoing goal ), through over 1,130 qualified coaches and trainers who have undergone the custom training designed by UNODC . UNODC has also strengthened the capacity of more than 400 sports centres and schools , with the provision of equipment and the improvement or refurbishment of sports infrastructure in some communities , in cooperation with different governmental sectors responsible for social affairs , education , sports , youth , health , and law enforcement . In addition , UNODC has also worked closely with civil society organizations , providing grants to support and implement sport-based programmes for young people .
Many of these partners gathered in Vienna recently for a two-day conference to share their experiences with colleagues on the implementation of Line Up , Live Up and to showcase their work , including government representatives from 14 countries . From Latin America and the Caribbean , Africa , Europe
All forms of sport – not just the traditional ballgames – can be adapted to teach young children valuable life skills .
Dominican Republic / Centro Educativo Morayca
Step 1 . Tubes
Step 2 . Paper balls
START
Step 3 . Tripods
FINISH
Step 4 . Targets
and Asia , numerous experiences were presented about the successes and lessons learned in the implementation of Line Up , Live Up in various settings around the world , ranging from schools , sports centers and communities , to institutions for children in conflict with the law . With occasional adaptations to specific cultural contexts , the curriculum has truly been tried and tested and its key achievements have been lauded in the countries where it has been applied ; in particular , there are noticeable improvements in the prosocial attitudes of young people after the completion of their training , and in the strengthening of social cohesion .
From Kyrgyzstan , Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to Brazil , Colombia , the Dominican Republic and Peru , and from Lebanon and the State of Palestine to South Africa and Uganda , passing by Spain , there is consensus that the core elements of the training have clear benefits when applied professionally . Line Up , Live Up contributes to improving participants ’ personal and social skills , to affecting their attitudes and beliefs with regards to violence , crime and drug use , and to enhancing their self-motivation , self-confidence and feelings of self-worth . Indeed , in a UNODC assessment which collected the feedback of nearly 3,000 young people , 98 per cent stated that they were extremely satisfied with the programme and with these new skills which could be applied in their daily life .
In addition to the continued expansion of the Line Up , Live Up programme , and to the ongoing development of guidance on the prevention of violent extremism through sports , the Youth Crime Prevention through Sports component plans to further explore the use of sport in the context of gender-based violence . Indeed , sports can play a positive role in girls ’ empowerment and in their participation in various aspects of life , and such programmes can promote gender equality by addressing harmful normative beliefs and norms , and by providing positive female role models .
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