Youth Charter for Sports- Promoting Social and Human Development

Reporter Martin Baxter met with Geoff Thompson, the former world karate champion turned youth ambassador at his offices in Salford Quays. Geoff who is the executive chairman of the Youth Charter for Sport took time out of his busy schedule to participate in a three-part documentary that highlights his hopes for the children and people of Salford and the new direction that the Youth Charter in modern Britain.

The Youth Charter acts as a social broker and cultural interface between public/private sector and donor organisations. The key to the Youth Charter approach is to provide capacity, leadership and self-reliance to hard to reach young people and their communities. This is delivered through their Social Coach Training and development workshops, programmes and projects. Further assistance, campaigning, advocacy, support and advice is delivered through their online based distance learning and evaluation tools which provide a unique impact and assessment of each individuals and communitys ongoing development and progress.

The Youth Charter specifically tackles educational non-attainment, health inequality, anti-social behaviour and the negative effects of crime, drugs, gang related activity and racism by applying the ethics of sporting and artistic excellence. The aim is to then translate these to provide social and economic benefits of citizenship, rights and responsibilities, with improved education, health, social order and environment.

The Youth Charter Philosophy: "Sport is an order of chivalry, a code of ethics and aesthetics, recruiting its members from all classes and all peoples. Sport is a truce. In an era of antagonisms and conflicts, it is the respite of the Gods in which fair competition ends in respect and friendship. (Olympism). Sport is education, the truest form of education, that of character. Sport is culture because it enhances life and, most importantly, does so for those who usually have the least opportunity to feast on it." -Rene Maheu, former director of UNESCO.

With over 250 Global Sporting Ambassadors and high profile social role models, the Youth Charter aims to pioneer new approaches in tackling the increasingly serious problem of anti-social behaviour amongst the socially excluded youth.

More details can be found on their website: http://www.youthcharter.co.uk

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Youth Charter
• Youth Charter for Sports
• Martin Baxter
• Geoff Thompson
• World Karate Champion