International Day of Peace – We stand for respect and kindness

International Day of Peace – We stand for respect and kindness

Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21 September. The UN General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire.

The 2021 theme for the International Day of Peace is “Recovering better for an equitable and sustainable world”. We invite you to join the efforts of the United Nations family and football organisations as we focus on recovering better for a more equitable and peaceful world. Celebrate peace by standing up against acts of hate online and offline, and by spreading compassion, kindness, and hope in the face of the pandemic, and as we recover.

#International Peace Day

Show Racism the Red Card

Together with our consortium partner clubs, we developed the Show Racism the Red Card programme, which consists of multiple elements. The majority of the campaign’s output is an awareness-raising campaign in stadiums and in grassroots clubs. The programme includes the education of young people and adults in schools, workplaces and at events held in football stadiums and a European-wide media campaign, run by the European Football for Development Network, the programme coordinator. Te aim of the project is to create a dialogue on how we can tackle racism and all other forms of discrimination in society. The participating clubs will share best practices and will create, adapt or further develop educational resources to raise awareness on diversity, foster social cohesion, and reduce physical and verbal violence linked to racism.

Currently, the Show Racism the Red Card programme, which is coordinated by the European Football for Development Netwerk (EFDN) is funded by the European Commision. The consortium partners include professional football clubs and their foundations such as Brentford FC Community Sports Trust, Chelsea FC Foundation, Club Brugge Foundation, Inter Campus, Rangers Charity Foundation, Fundacao Benfica, SV Werder Bremen, and the Dutch SRtRC foundation ‘Geef Racisme de Rode Kaart’. After the funding window ends, the project will be continue to be implemented and delivered by the European Football for Development Network.

Welcome Through Football

Welcome Through Football is an EFDN initiative. Current projects across Europe receive funding from the Eramus+ programme of the European Union and the UEFA Foundation for Children.

The Welcome Through Football 2021 project aims to assist in the integration and inclusion of recently arrived young refugees, asylum seekers and young people with a migrant background. EFDN and partners will develop and test a European methodology that uses football as a tool to reach refugees and migrants from different ages (7-25 years old) to get them physically and social active in European communities. Moreover, the project assists football coaches and youth workers in the development and sharing of effective methods in reaching out to the marginalised target group, in preventing racism and intolerance.