UN initiative features young people’s ideas on tackling racism through sports

Using sportswear to transmit anti-racist messages and imposing penalties for teams whose players are involved in racist incidents are just some of the ideas proposed by young people as part of a United Nations project to counter prejudice in and through sports.

A total of 10 ideas were presented to the European Parliament in Brussels yesterday by representatives of “Youth Voices against Racism,” an initiative of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), FC Barcelona and the European Coalition of Cities against Racism (ECCAR), in partnership with the European Parliament.

The list was the result of meetings held with young people between the ages of 15 and 18 in schools, sports clubs and youth councils in various European cities, as well as via local media and online forums, to elicit their ideas for ways to promote tolerance, mutual respect and solidarity through sport.

“It really is young people that carry the torch of this message and we wanted to invite them to become deciding agents in this question so that they can speak out to all levels of society,” said UNESCO Deputy Director-General Marcio Barbosa.

Some of the other ideas include printing anti-racist slogans on containers of drinks sold in stadiums, including anti-racism and anti-discrimination clauses in professional sporting contracts; and using commercial items related to sport, such as sportswear, flags and rubber wristbands, to transmit anti-racist messages.

The young people also suggested establishing penalties for any teams whose players are responsible for racist incidents either before or after a match, as well as rewards for teams, clubs or cities with fans or players who demonstrate anti-racist attitudes.

“Youth Voices against Racism” is part of a wider partnership launched in November 2007 between FC Barcelona and UNESCO to promote the values of sport through education and awareness-raising.