CAC Shortlisted At Beyond Sport 2020
We are honored to be shortlisted for the Sport for Health and Well-being Award (SDG 3) Category at the 2020 Beyond Sport Global Awards! Our Sexual & Reproductive Health & Rights initiative with Pathfinder International has been selected by Beyond Sport as one of just 16 shortlisted initiatives (from over 270 applications). This year, as there will be no in-person Beyond Sport Awards they will be promoting the Shortlist through a digital communications campaign that will run from September through to early December. We are thankful to Beyond Sport for this opportunity to champion our work to a wide audience. We are excited about the upcoming Beyond Sport House online events taking place from October-November.
This is our 6th Beyond Sport shortlist. In 2009 we won the Best New Project Award. In 2014 we won the Corporate of the Year award for our Chevrolet partnership. In 2018 we won the Global Impact award.
For more information on our partnership with Pathfinder International please have a look at this blog about our partnership launch and this blog about the impact of our work addressing Sexual & Reproductive Health & Rights in Tanzania.
UEFA Foundation for Children Award
We are delighted to have been awarded a UEFA Foundation for Children Award 2020 as a result of our partnership with the English Football Association safeguarding the rights of vulnerable children in Bangladesh.
Coaches Across Continents, supported by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the English Football Association (FA), the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) and UNHCR, will use the award to create Community Based Protection to safeguard the rights of vulnerable children in the Kutapalong Rohingya Refugee camp in Bangladesh. This project educates local Rohingya refugees to become football coaches across 25 different camps/districts within Cox’s Bazar so that they can engage boys and girls in their community on a weekly basis, and begin to impact some of the 500,000 children under the age of 17 living in the camps.
For more information on this work please check out these blogs:
https://coachesacrosscontinents.org/rohingya-refugees-and-un-sdgs/
https://coachesacrosscontinents.org/all-star-team-impacts-bangladeshi-and-rohingya/
Every year the UEFA Foundation for Children Board of Trustees ask the 55 UEFA member associations to nominate charities in their countries. In 2020 the Board of Trustees decided to divide the total funding – €1m – equally between 20 nominees, with the 20 organisations each receiving a €50,000 grant.
Nike & CAC Expand Partnership
Congratulations to our partners Nike on being a finalist for the Corporate Community Impact Award at the ESPN Sports Humanitarian Awards. They were a finalist for their Nike Community Ambassador program, which utilizes a CAC-designed curriculum and methodology, to give Nike store employees around the world the opportunity to share their love of sport with the next generation. Last year more than 5,400 store employees in 24 countries served as Nike Community Ambassadors, volunteering as coaches in their local communities to help get kids playing so they can reach their full potential. The Awards took place in conjunction with the 2020 ESPYS on June 21st.
We are delighted to announce that CAC is now working with Nike to provide urgent relief while creating a long term educational pathway for children to stay safe in these incredibly challenging times. This is the first program which addresses play-based education during COVID-19 in addition to emergency needs.
Thanks to Nike’s support CAC and our partners working on the front lines of the COVID-19 response in Colombia, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines will be provided funding for the items their communities need including food, soap, face masks, and essential items. Leaders from our partner programs in these countries will be given the resources they need to find creative ways to use play to address the pandemic. In addition, partners in 5 other countries will be given our play-based educational resources to encourage their beneficiaries to stay physically active and mentally well.
Our COVID-19 response partnership with Nike has provided essential funding to community-based organizations to distribute vital goods to the community while building a long-term educational pathway for youth. For example:
In Indonesia Uni Papua FC are distributing rice and masks to at-risk families while providing football-based educational sessions about preventing the spread of COVID-19.
In Philippines FundLife are distributing food and female hygiene packs while designing safe play-based educational sessions which will focus on mental-well being of youth when restrictions allow.
In Colombia Niñas sin Miedo are distributing hygiene items and antibacterial gel while delivering educational sessions to girls focused on how to support each other during lock down.
In India Slum Soccer are providing ration and hygiene kit to 40 underserved families in Nagpur while delivering their ‘Be Careful, Not Fearful’ play-based program which teach youth about issues such as social distancing, hand-washing, and fact-based decision-making.
Contact us for more information:
Child Safeguarding Campaign for Universal Children’s Day
November 20, 2019. CAC is proud to announce on Universal Children’s Day that 34 organizations on 5 continents have completed our 3-month Child Safeguarding Education campaign. Other organizations from our partnership network in 60+ countries are expected to complete this program shortly. CAC’s Child Safeguarding Education Program is the only one that recognizes organizations that reach CAC’s international standards for Child Safeguarding as one of our 28 year-round strategic resources needed for organizational accreditation.
“CAC is educating organizations and creating communities that have a comprehensive safeguarding culture and child-centric practices that engages all stakeholders as part of CAC’s Community Empowerment to Ensure All Human Rights.“
– Brian Suskiewicz, Chief Executive Strategist
Each organization goes through a thorough CAC-guided educational process to ensure that their child safeguarding is:
- Child Safe: Having children understand their rights as defined by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child by playing CAC Purposeful Play games, understanding who they can talk to, and providing services for the child should any breach of their rights occur
- Coach Safe: Training practitioners on best practices for safe coaching and their role as a link between the children and the organization
- Organization Safe: Developing procedures and policies that guide the entire organization, from preventative measures to protect children to reporting procedures if violations occur
- Community Safe: Engaging key stakeholders such as families, social services, and the police on Child Safety and Protection measures and bringing CAC’s Theory of Change and the communities’ new and improved Child Safeguarding to life
CAC’s expertise in Child Safeguarding comes from decades of work in the field on best international practices that allow for local contextualization. Our partnerships with other leaders in the field include:
- UNICEF and being a pioneering member of the International Safeguards for Children in Sport
- UNHCR and working with refugees in emergency situations to create Community-Based Protection
- FIFA and their Guardians Program through our role as an official partner of the Asian Football Confederation
- CAC Published methodology on Peace and Child Rights, Child Protection, and Community Empowerment
For more information or to have your organization engage CAC through our Child Safeguarding Education Program, please contact:
CAC At Soccerex USA
As the official CSR consultant of Soccerex we are excited to be exhibiting at Soccerex USA in Miami from November 21st-22nd. As part of this partnership we are delighted to offer one company attending the conference the chance to receive a free CSR/Cause Marketing package from CAC valued at over $37,000. The package includes 1 year of positive brand marketing and promotions as your company will support one carefully selected community anywhere in the world using soccer to address the UNSDG’s. CAC will work on your behalf to demonstrate the positive impact your commitment is having on the community both internally and externally as requested. By simply visiting CAC at Booth 141 on the exhibition hall and talking to one of our consultants you will be entered into the draw for the package.
Our experienced team of CSR/Cause Marketing consultants will be working with brands, media, federations and clubs in attendance at the event including MLS, La Liga, CONCACAF, Fox Sports, and Heineken. The CAC team in Miami will include Board Member, Ambassador and US Soccer Hall of Famer Seamus Malin.
This continues our productive partnership with Soccerex. In the past 2 years we have exhibited at Soccerex China twice, Soccerex USA in 2018 and Soccerex Europe in Portugal in 2019. These events bring together the world of soccer with quality exhibitors and high level panels from the leaders of federations, clubs, leagues and sports media. We are honored to be the official charity partner and look forward to progressing the partnership further in 2020.
Contact to arrange a meeting with CAC in Miami or for more information on the package and partnership.
Rohingya: From Genocide Victims to Safeguarding Children
October 26, 2019. The Asian Football Confederation and CAC initiative to benefit Rohingya refugees located in the Kutapalong refugee camp is nearly one year old. Supported greatly by the English FA, the BFF, and the UNHCR, we have conducted three separate trainings to Rohingya refugees from 25 different areas of the camp to empower them to become football coaches who will look after the nearly 10,000 children that are directly in their care. It’s a concept called Community-Based Protection, the idea that community members are best able to look after one another.
“As a victim of genocide, we the Rohingya want to improve our nation through football. This program helps us to ensure the protection of children. ” – Mohammed Amin
This latest training, conducted by CAC Chief Executive Brian Suskiewicz, FA Coach Taff Rahman, and West Ham United Academy coach Liton Zaman reached a key new milestone. Because of the consistent work with the same group of Rohingya coaches and their willingness to embrace our coaching methodology, the coaches are now more freely opening up regarding their experiences and their future goals. We were able to conduct a full day of Child Safeguarding education, using CAC curriculum games to illustrate children’s rights while they made key promises to protect the children in their care.
“We can show the whole world we are a civil nation and can educate and protect children with fun football.” – Mohammed Ismael
Please watch this world premier explaining our initiative and Community Based Protection.
Initiatives such as this one take a sustained effort over many months and years in order to create long-lasting impact. It is an honor to have a multi-stakeholder partnership with five organizations who are committed to creating this impact. We will continue to mentor these Rohingya refugees through 2020 through coaching education to create Community Based Protection as well as ongoing support through equipment donations
27 Photos from Kutapalong refugee camp
For more information or to support this initiative please email:
Mohammed Amin and Mohammed Ismael
