International Forum on Football for the Community Short Summaries & Final Declaration Content 1 Opening Ceremony International Swiss U16 Cup ............................................................... 2 2 Opening Ceremony International Forum on Football for the Community......................... 2 2.1 Hans Brunhart, Board of Directors Scort Foundation .................................................. 3 2.2 Wilfried Lemke, United Nations....................................................................................... 3 2.3 Tim Vine, Premier League................................................................................................ 4 2.4 Klaus Fuchs, Volkswagen AG ......................................................................................... 4 2.5 Dr. Gregor Hovemann & Tim Breitbarth, Sporthochschule Köln (German Sport University Cologne).......................................................................................................... 5 3 2nd Day of the International Forum on Football for the Community................................... 5 3.1 Welcome Address ............................................................................................................ 5 3.2 Klaus-Dieter Fischer, Werder Bremen ............................................................................ 6 3.3 Bill Bygroves, Liverpool FC............................................................................................. 6 3.4 Eli A. Wolff, Northeastern University Boston ................................................................ 7 3.5 Marco Bode, deepblue sports ......................................................................................... 7 3.6 Jürgen Griesbeck, streetfootballworld ........................................................................... 8 3.7 Amy Farkas, UNICEF ........................................................................................................ 8 3.8 Brian Klein, AFRICA TEN ................................................................................................. 9 3.9 Prof. Dr. Norbert Müller, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz ................................ 9 3.10 Anna-Lisa Schwarz, Bundesliga-Stiftung (Bundesliga Foundation) ......................... 10 3.11 Panel Discussion ............................................................................................................ 10 3.12 Close Statement ............................................................................................................. 11 3.13 Closing Words ................................................................................................................ 12 4 Final Declaration ................................................................................................................... 13 1 1 Opening Ceremony International Swiss U16 Cup Organisers and supporters of the International Swiss U16 Cup launched the event by offering brief introductory speeches. First, the players and the other guests were welcomed by Hanspeter Rothmund, CEO of the Scort Foun- dation and President of the Organising Commit- tee of the tournament. Hugo Quaderer, Minister for Sport of the Principality of Liechtenstein, continued by noting the value of the humanitar- ian and social aspects offered by the tourna- From left to right: Massimo Busacca, Hanspeter ment – aspects that account for his country’s Rothmund, Wilfried Lemke and Hugo Quaderer support of the tournament. (© Michele Willi) Finally, Willi Lemke, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace and patron of the event, praised the event as an opportunity to bring together young people from all over the world. Accord- ing to Mr. Lemke, more important than the result of the tournament is the nature of the event as a peaceful gathering of all partici- pants, regardless of cultural and religious background. Following the speeches, the Special Guest Team Sudan played against Newcastle United FC in the opening match. The match was led by the well-known FIFA- Wilfried Lemke, UN Special Adviser and Patron of Cup Referee Massimo Busacca. and Forum (© Andreas Hörner) 2 Opening Ceremony International Forum on Football for the Community Moderator: Victor Rohner “Viva la vida” – with this impressively performed song by Coldplay, Andrew Coleman offered a reflective and dynamic start to the Opening Ceremony of the International Forum on Football for the Community. Host Victor Rohner welcomed all participants in the name of Scort and discussed what makes the work of the foundation so important – its effort to achieve social engagement and responsibility in and through football. Mr. Rohner then presented a video showing emotional mo- ments from different football-related Scort projects in Kosovo, Liech- tenstein, and Sudan. With his credo “Football for the community – responsibility for today and tomorrow“, Mr. Rohner passed the stage to Mr. Hans Brunhart, member of the Board of Directors of Scort. Victor Rohner (© Michele Willi) 2 2.1 Hans Brunhart, Board of Directors Scort Foundation Address of Welcome Hans Brunhart, Member of the Scort Foundation’s Board of Directors, welcomed all participants in the name of Scort, an organization that works to meet its social obligations by encouraging football clubs to become engaged in social activities. He excused Gigi Oeri, President of the Scort Foundation and the FC Basel, due to an important qualification match of her team. Mr. Brunhart explained that as the most popular sport in the world, football has the power to bring about social change. However, many clubs do not take advantage of football’s positive potential. Hans Brunhart (© Michele Willi) Mr. Brunhart emphasized that the aim should there- fore be to create networks, offering a platform for exchange between diverse interest groups. The creation of these networks will only succeed through the use of communication and cooperation. “Football can do more”, Mr. Brunhart finally claimed. It should therefore be used to bring young people together and offer them perspectives for a peaceful future. 2.2 Wilfried Lemke, United Nations Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace Patron of the International Forum on Football for the Community & International Swiss U16 Cup “Unifying our youth through sport: The role of the United Nations” In his presentation, Wilfried Lemke, patron of the Forum and Special Adviser to the UN Secretary- General on Sport for Development and Peace, spoke about the role of sport in development of young people, highlighting the importance of mutual respect. After passing along kind regards from the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Lemke offered an overview of the global work of the United Nations. Using an example from Africa, Lemke emphasized the unique ability of sport to give people hope and encourage teenagers to fight against violence and drugs. “Sport is a wonderful means of bringing people together”, the avowed soccer fan stated. “It helps people respect each other”, he continued. Educating coaches and trainers is essential to sus- taining and increasing society’s enthusiasm for football. In order to bring about this goal, there is a need to build networks. In this context, Lemke Wilfried Lemke (© Michele Willi) lauded the Scort Foundation, proclaiming, “What you are doing is exactly right!” Lemke concluded by reinforcing a message from the United Na- tions – that changes can occur, especially in conflict areas, through the use of the positive values of sport. To reach this goal, people must stand and work together. 3 2.3 Tim Vine, Premier League “Creating Chances - the Premier League off the pitch” Tim Vine, Director Public Relations of the English Premier League, presented in his speech different projects currently being conducted by this football league. Social engagement has a long tradition in England. Many well-known teams participate in initiatives that use sports to change communities and society as a whole for the better. Mr. Vine described “Creating Chances”, a fund whose goals include social integration, education, health, and equal rights for children and young adults. Since its creation in 2000, “Creating Chances” Tim Vine (© Andreas Hörner) has expanded the quantity and quality of its activi- ties. As explained by Mr. Vine, all funding provided by top leagues is specifically transferred to social projects. One especially successful project has been “Kickz”, which has reached a large number of teenagers liing in suburbs that struggle with a range of problems. Mr. Vine’s presenta- tion ultimately highlighted the contribution of well-known Premier League players, who support different projects all over the world. 2.4 Klaus Fuchs, Volkswagen AG “VfL Wolfsburg or World Cup 2010 in South Africa – no Sponsorship without the Heart and Social Competence” “Of course, the activities implemented by Volkswagon are always in line with the company´s eco- nomic interests, but not exclusively…” The head of the Sports-Communication Department of Volkswagen, Mr. Klaus Fuchs emphasized that sponsorship should never be undertaken without a commitment to social responsibility. He explained that the public´s acceptance of sponsorship could be improved in society through charitable projects. Furthermore, he stressed the impor- tance of the German football club, VfL Wolfsburg, as a “social daughter” of Volkswagen. In order to demonstrate the social aspects of Volkswagen´s sponsorship initiatives, Mr. Fuchs highlighted projects like