The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and River Plate Foundation were invited to participate in the Sport Positive Summit, a summit aimed at bringing together sports enthusiasts from all over the world to provide a support platform where they can learn from each other, spread good practices, develop new tools, and strengthen collaboration in areas of mutual interest related to climate change and sustainability.
Representing the River Plate Foundation were Clara D´Onofrio (President) and Lucía de la Vega (Executive Director), and from the UNDP, Claudio Tomasi, Resident Representative for Argentina. At the congress, the River Plate Foundation was the only case from Latin America featured in the presentations. Specifically, they participated in the panel on grassroots work, community impact, and collective actions, where they presented the results of the UNDP report on Values on the Field (the foundation’s flagship program). They emphasized the active role of Club Atlético River Plate in inclusion and development through the programs carried out by its Foundation, in a country with more than 60% of children living in poverty. From the joint work, they highlighted the importance of sports in general and football in particular as tools for education and social inclusion.
In his presentation, Tomasi noted that “sport has the power to connect the influential networks of various partners and stakeholders with a common commitment. The world of sport offers powerful networks and common spaces for sustainable development.” He also detailed different initiatives that the organization is undertaking in the field of sports.
Clara D´Onofrio added, “It is important for River, as a socially influential football club, to transcend its own goals and advocate for global goals, contextualized in Argentina. Today, sports in general, and football in particular, are key in the entertainment industry, but above all, they are social references.”
Lucía de la Vega mentioned: “Football is a great tool for transmitting human values and acquiring healthy habits. Through our ‘Values on the Field’ method, it allows us to work with children, families, and the community, building a common language and providing concrete tools for life and to improve the personal and community future.”
Through the Values on the Field program, the River Plate Foundation provides an educational, recreational, and supportive space for girls, boys, and adolescents aged 6 to 14 who live in situations of social vulnerability through mixed football and values schools. Social support, the promotion of values, and healthy, positive relationships are the objectives of implementing this program in parts of society where there is a great lack of these aspects. “The support of the United Nations is very important to us; with the football schools, we build a space that, through relationships, transforms realities. Presenting this methodology is useful so that others can replicate it, and we become more who see football as an educational tool,” concluded the president of the River Plate Foundation.
