Peace Day Preparations in Full Swing
August 22nd 2015. For the second straight year, Coaches Across Continents has teamed up with Peace One Day to promote international peace through football. On September 21st, CAC will join millions of others across the world by taking part in this international day of ceasefire and nonviolence.
As part of the One Day One Goal campaign, Peace One Day has issued a challenge to football players around the world to organize a game of football on Peace Day,in order to symbolize the potential peace that the sport can bring. Whether big or small- with a few friends, or the whole community- these games will be instrumental to the overall impact of Peace Day, so we hope you can join us on the pitch!
For this special campaign, CAC has created a unique set of Peace Day games that emphasize the importance of promoting peace through out every community across the world. Over the last few weeks we’ve been hard at work sending these games out to as many people as possible to get them prepped and ready for the big day.
So with less than one month left until September 21st, the countdown is on to make this year’s Peace Day the biggest and best one yet, and we need your help! If you can’t join us on the field, don’t worry,there are other ways to help. We’d love for you to spread the word to anyone and everyone that you can about this special day. While just talking about the event may seem simple, the awareness and recognition of Peace Day is as important as anything!
If you do choose to join us in the movement for world peace, we’re interested in seeing how you celebrate Peace Day by sharing any quotes, photos, or videos from your activities over social media. For any Peace Day related activities you post, remember to tag Coaches Across Continents and Peace One Day so that we can share the amazing work that you’re doing in your communities!
Win A Free Coaches Across Continents Partnership
10th March 2015. Coaches Across Continents and Peace One Day have teamed up to provide an opportunity to communities and organizations all over the world the chance to win a FREE Hat-Trick Initiative Partnership from Coaches Across Continents. We are opening our application process until March 15th at which time one or more selected communities will be awarded a three-year partnership with Coaches Across Continents at no charge. This partnership is valued at $81,000 USD.
To apply to win this partnership you must complete our application form- Peace Day Award Partnership Application and email it to by March 15th. So you have five days to apply!
To apply you must meet the following criteria:
- Applications to be received by March 15, 2015 (decision made by the end of March).
- Complete the normal CAC application for consideration.
- Your organization must support Peace Day on 21 September and our campaign against violence against girls and women.
- You agree to invite and host at least 50 coaches (or more) at each annual training with CAC.
- These coaches should impact at least 10,000 children using sport for social impact.
- Your community must work with both male and female coaches as well as boys and girls soccer players.
- The first annual training will occur for one or two weeks, most likely in July, 2015, to prepare and train your coaches for 21 September (Peace Day).
Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to bring social change to your community. Peace Day Award Partnership Application!
This opportunity builds an the incredibly productive existing partnership between CAC and Peace One Day. In 2014 we reached people in over 40 countries on September 21st- Peace Day- as part of ‘One Day One Goal’. In 2015 we will be running a similar campaign based around peace-building and conflict resolution which will reach even more people and create a greater impact.
The Real Stellenbosch: CAC Hits the Futsal Court with t4c
October 4th, 2014. Cape Town, South Africa, famous for its mountains, beaches and beauty, neighbors some of the best and most stunning wine farms in the world in the very location of our latest program. This training took CAC Senior Staff member, Nora Dooley, to the mountainous farmlands of Stellenbosch – a tourism hotspot, a world-renowned wine oasis that is, like most vacation destinations, so often only seen and heard about through that narrow lens. Having been to the region as a tourist herself while living in South Africa, Nora was eager to learn more about the area, beyond the bubble that shields tourists from life’s difficult realities.
Our partner in Stellenbosch, training4changeS (t4c), is a young organization that has chosen futsal as their game of choice. They are tapping into a world of opportunity in South African youth development and have lured in the National Futsal Coach – Quinton Allies – as a member of the staff. The training was a last minute addition to our 2014 schedule so the group was mostly t4c staff with a few participants from local partner organizations in t4c’s expanding network.
We trained the 16 coaches in games from our year one curriculum and were able to push them in all aspects of our work – football (futsal) technique, fitness, and knowledge of the game, and most importantly social impact – how we coach sport to achieve a greater end of youth and community empowerment. This group was small, but each one of them proved day in and day out how committed they are to learning from CAC and putting what they learn into practice in their lives and in their sessions with children.
On top of our core modules we taught the coaches all 5 of our Peace Day games since the training began the day after September 21st, as well as games from our Female Empowerment, HIV, Child Rights, and Financial Literacy curricula. One of the games that had a particularly resounding impact was our “Peace Day: Understanding Stereotypes and Challenging Them” game which, as per the title, addresses the problem of stereotypes and what we can do to solve that problem. Before we began the game we had a conversation about what stereotyping someone means and what are some examples of stereotypes in their community. We talked about people with dreadlocks (one of the participant had dreads), stereotypes pertaining to religions – particularly Muslims, as well as skin color – a huge issue in the Stellenbosch area and the country as a whole. The group itself was made up of people from different backgrounds and cultures, and we made sure to create a safe space for us all to discuss these serious issues. Then we played the game.
The futsal court was divided into three zones – in a regular futsal game it would be for defense, midfield, and strikers but in this game the zones represented different stereotypes and we used three of the examples that we already discussed – physical characteristics (like dreads), religious affiliation, and skin color (a physical characteristic but so serious that it demands its own zone). For the first round players on each team must stay in the zone they are placed in and cannot leave. The teams go to goal. Then we play again where one team has the freedom to move anywhere and the other team is still confined to their zone. Then the third time – everybody is free to move.
After the game we discussed more in depth about how it felt to be restricted to a zone in the game and how it limits your team, how it is a disadvantage when the other team is unrestricted. Then we related the game to the context of life and the participants discussed how imprisoning people in a box in your mind limits their ability to ever be anything else in your eyes, and closes your mind to the possibility of understanding and acceptance. If we get rid of the zones, if we get rid of the stereotypes, we are all free to play and make our own choices; we will score more goals and work better as a team, as a community, as a nation and a world.
This is just one example of the amazing games and discussions that occurred throughout the week with these participants. They were wonderful people to work with and we could not have asked for a more open-minded, energetic, thoughtful, and talented group of young South Africans. After a few days Coach Quinton praised our methods saying, “It’s amazing how you use the ball as the connecting point.” We very much appreciate having such an established coach understand the importance of our methods. South Africa is one of the most difficult countries for us to work in because of various aspects of the culture and history – but groups like t4c break the stereotype and make our job incredibly enjoyable and rewarding. We look forward to a prolific partnership with training4changeS and the Stellenbosch community, the beautiful community beyond the wine lands.
Quinton Allies showing off his Skills for Life
Peace in the DRC
August 4th 2014. CAC volunteer Jamie Wheaton blogs from Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo.
My team was welcomed with open arms as we crossed the border into the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The administrators of the Georges Malaika Foundation smoothed our transition across the border, which would have been difficult considering none of our team spoke any French, the official language of Congo. Over the next few weeks I would pick up some key phrases, most of which won’t help me if I have to speak French anywhere other than a soccer field. As we walked into our hotel, Sarah, the manager at the Kalebuka Football for Hope Center, gave us details for the week ahead of us. She, and the rest of the GMF team, were some of the most organized people I’ve worked with. They had every minute of our stay planned, even adjusting to unexpected surprises, like a trip to a neighboring farm or a detour so my peer could braid her hair (a decision we all regret). I was truly impressed by the coordination of the foundation all week.
This week had a different tone for me than any of the previous ones. For a start, there were over 65 people there, more than twice the amount I had worked with previously. While it was encouraging that Coaches Across Continents was reaching this many people, it made it harder to connect to the coaches on a personal level (the language barrier didn’t help either). While some characters stood out (a man who insisted on being called “Strong Man” is one) overall I didn’t feel as personally connected to some of the coaches who worked in the morning.
The afternoons were a different story: working with a small group of around 15 people we worked with the GMF employees to address specific problems in the society. Even though everything took twice as a long with a translator, we were still able to help them come up with possible solutions for child abuse, and child rights. The passion displayed in that room for the children in their community was very moving.
One thing that was unique about the program in Lubumbashi was that we tested out Peace Day games. International Peace day is scheduled for September 21st, and Coaches Across Continents will be supporting the cause by providing Peace Day games to communities in over 130 countries! Lubumbashi was our guinea pig for these games, and they were a big success. What to Do When Faced With a Problem and Understanding Violence were big crowd pleasers. Peace Day is a UN sponsored international holiday, and will be celebrated all around the world. Whats more, this year DRC will be the main focus country for Peace Day with many events promoting non-violence.
Overall, the GMF foundation impressed me with the care and commitment they’ve shown to promoting child’s rights. There dedication to the children in their area was incredible, and made my experience in Lubumbashi one of the most memorable of my whole trip.
