"One Ball" to unite communities in Lebanon!
Under the patronage of H.E. Minister of Education and Higher Education, Mr. Marwan Hamadeh, and in the presence of H.E. German Ambassador to Lebanon, Mr. Martin Huth, representative of the European Union delegation in Lebanon, Mr. Rein Nieland, representative of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Ms. Sonia Khoury, and representatives from the GIZ and the Spirit of Football organization, a celebration was held at the Mohammed Shamel public school in Tariq El Jdideh under the slogan ‘One Ball, One World’.
By Heba El Hakeem
During the closing event, the participants were invited to sign on “The Ball” which has been signed by 4,000 people including famous figures and presidents of various countries including the president of the German Government Mr. Frank Walter Steinmeier.
In his speech H.E. Huth said, “I am glad to see that today we have “The Ball” in Beirut which was first signed by the Federal President of Germany Dr. Frank Walter Steinmeier. The collaboration between the Qudra Programme and Spirit of Football has facilitated a colourful week of activities in Lebanon: 25 young people from Tripoli and Beirut have been trained on conflict sensitive methods to facilitate sport, art, and theatre workshops. Germany supports extra-curricular activities at schools across the board since they play a crucial role in conflict resolution, peace promotion and individual confidence building.”
Mr.Nieland said, “In learning, sporting activities "play" a fundamental role, as children and young people can learn to be part of a team and accept the principle of fair play, as well as establish healthy behaviours and lifestyles. The EU believes that education combined with sport activities of children and youth, together with their engagement and participation in their communities, are the stepping stones to building peaceful societies”.
