When the Generation Amazing football league for boys and girls in Lyari Town, Pakistan, kicks off, it will be yet another significant step in offering support to the local community.
The event in Pakistan is one of many examples of the Youth Advisory Councils of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC)’s Generation Amazing programme. Through the councils, young people from Pakistan, Nepal and Jordan are having a positive impact on their communities by coordinating tournaments, promoting awareness campaigns on local social issues and involving others in educational and environmental projects.
Sudarshan Shreshta, a Generation Amazing Youth ambassador and council co-ordinator in the Kailali district of Nepal, explained the initiative: “Being a Generation Amazing ambassador, I have gained a lot of exposure and acquired new skills and knowledge which I wanted to share with the other youths represented in the council. Following orientation on the concept and objectives, I was elected as its coordinator, which gave me responsibility for my local community and enabled me to interact with its other members, transferring my skills to them and learning from them.”
The Youth Advisory Council is a local body made up of between 10 and 20 local youths, including but not limited to Generation Amazing ambassadors. Other council members are chosen from local schools, colleges, clubs and community centres.
Rosa D’Alessandro, Generation Amazing International Project Manager, said: “The councils serve to connect the Generation Amazing ambassadors with their peers from the larger local community to promote them as leaders and empower others to get involved in making a difference with real issues that affect their lives.”
Football is not the only medium through which these goals are achieved. Projects can cover a wide range of issues, including educational projects for the community at large, such as workshops on risk mitigation in flood risk areas. Cultural and knowledge exchange initiatives, including plays to create awareness about social inclusion and perils of drug use, also take place. Other projects focus on health and sanitation, which is a common priority consideration in Generation Amazing programme areas.
The councils are supported technically by Right To Play in Pakistan and Jordan, and by Mercy Corps in Nepal, who are the NGOs responsible for delivering Generation Amazing on the ground. Youth Advisory Councils, meanwhile, receive financial support from Generation Amazing to organise their events.
Generation Amazing is the SC’s flagship CSR programme which uses the opportunity of Qatar hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the power of football as a catalyst for social change, in order to educate and empower the next generation in Qatar and across the world.