Doha, January 29 (QNA) - Jointly with Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) and Qatar Charity (QC), Save the Dream has started on Sunday the first field activity of the project 'Saving Children's Dreams in Somalia through Sport.'

This program falls under the umbrella of the Sport for Development and Peace initiative, which seeks to highlight sport as an effective tool for building societies, empowering and inspiring children and youth in less developed countries.

Developed with the institutional support of UNESCO and primarily implemented in the city of Garowe, State of Puntland, the project aims to promote peace and reconciliation in Somalia through empowering youth and creating opportunities for vulnerable groups.

Marking the occasion, Deputy Director General for projects and Development of QFFD Sultan Al Aseeri said: "sport has proven to be an innovative tool of peace and cohesion, where it plays a vital role in fostering physical, social, and emotional health, improving learning outcomes, and transmitting key values such as teamwork, fair play, respect for others, especially among youth." "That is why we launched our inspiring "Sport for Development and Peace" initiative in 2022," Al Aseeri added, expressing his pride to see QFFD's vision becoming truth through this important project that focuses on empowering Somali youth and reconciling peace through sport," he added.

For his part, CEO of International Centre for Sport Security and Save the Dream Massimiliano Montanari pointed out the availability of tools that Save the Dream and the international community have developed in the field of sport for development and peace. "This means fulfilling the mission to protect children's dream by building local capacities to provide these children with a safe access to sport and its educational values," he added.

For his part, CEO's Assistant for the International Operations and Programs sector at Qatar Charity Nawaf Al Hammadi said that this initiative is an extension of Qatar Charity's previous efforts made in cooperation with QFFD and other partners.

"The initiative was implemented in Darfur, Sudan, and now we are taking another step forward to implement it in Somalia to make more impact and bring about positive change in the lives of vulnerable communities and contribute to achieving social peace among peoples," Al Hammadi added.

As part of this first phase of the project's implementation, partners kicked-off a 'Train the Trainer (TTT)' program which will lead to the delivery of capacity building activities on Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) for the benefit of local schools, NGOs, community and social centers, sport coaches, educators, role models, youth leaders, and volunteers.

The training will also include field activities and the organization of Sport Clinics inside internally displaced people (IDPs) camps, schools, sport facilities, and the Garowe City Stadium in preparation for the second phase of activities targeting over 50 local organizations.

The project 'Saving Children's Dreams in Somalia through Sport' falls under the umbrella of the Sport for Development and Peace initiative. While it aims to strengthen local capacities, it will fully benefit from international practices and experiences developed by Qatari institutions, led by the Aspire Academy.

Initiated by the International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS), Save the Dream is a global initiative to empower youth through safe access to sports and its educational values. (QNA)