July 3, 2020 – Srećko Mavrek, a New York City based Croat who has been serving as an official Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society in Education representative to the UN Department of Global Communications since 2016, attended the Technical Guide on Preventing Violent Extremism through Sport developed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
The Technical Guide on Preventing Violent Extremism through Sport is the latest in a range of tools developed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as part of the Doha Declaration Global Programme, aimed at fostering the use of sport and sport-based learning for youth crime, drug use and violence prevention. The Technical Guide identifies five areas of intervention through sports: safe spaces, social inclusion, education, empowerment and resilience.
To mark its release, a virtual event was held on July 2, 2020, with the participation of over 250 government representatives, experts, and practitioners from all around the world. One of them was Srećko Mavrek, a New York City based Croat, who has been serving as an official Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society in Education representative to the UN Department of Global Communications since 2016.
The event highlighted the important role that sport can play in preventing violent extremism and will serve to share experiences from states and civil society organizations on the effective integration of sport in national policy frameworks and the implementation of sport-based programs. This Guide reconfirms the important role that youth can play in peacebuilding and sustaining peace and recognizes the growing contribution of sport to the realization of peace in its promotion of mutual understanding.
“Sport fosters important human values and enables education for building personal and social life skills of at-risk youth that allow them to better cope with daily life challenges and move away from involvement in violence, crime or drug use. The role of sport as a tool for peace is also underlined by Member States with the adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, highlighting the contributions that sport can make to individuals and communities, as well as to health and education. It is important to identify and promote the best ways sport can deliver towards the achievement of the UN SDGs. Given its popularity and neutrality, sport can serve as an effective tool for promotion of a culture of tolerance and respect,” said Mr. Mavrek.
Further guidance for sport coaches and trainers and an e-learning course on sport and the prevention of violent extremism, will be published later this year and will complement this Technical Guide, which is available in the link below:
https://www.unodc.org/
