Report on Sports for Peace Project, District Swat

This report explores the potential of sports activities as a tool for building resilience and helping people affected by disaster and displacement to bridge divides and overcome trauma. It shows the positive effects of a sports for peace project, which was initiated in Pakistan in September 2008 by the independent, non-profit youth organisation Swat Youth Front (SYF) as a unifying factor in the process of conflict transformation, peace-building, restoration of interaction and communication, and the emotional and social rehabilitation of a traumatised community.

Working for poverty reduction, literacy, employment, women's empowerment, peace, and disaster management in Malakand Region, North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Pakistan, since 1997, SYF engages in partnership with community, public, and civil society organisations to foster a just, peaceful, and prosperous society where all people have equal access to opportunities. Under the sports for peace project, 3,360 players constituting 330 teams were provided with sporting goods in 8 distribution ceremonies and tasked with reviving and promoting sports activities in their respective areas.

Specifically, a coordination committee consisting of 3 members was formed under SYF supervision. This group established a selection committee consisting of 2 members of SYF's Board of Directors and a representative from each of the following: Swat cricket association, Swat football association, and Swat volleyball association. The committee invited applications and letters of interest from youth cricket, football, and volleyball teams through advertisements in local newspapers and by issuing letters to sports teams and union councils. The committee selected 150 cricket teams, 120 volleyball teams, and 60 football teams - with a special focus on areas affected the most by Taliban presence/control. The purchase committee invited tenders from sports goods suppliers through advertisement in local newspapers. They also compiled a sports team directory which is to be shared among the sports teams associations, players, and district sports office. This directory is intended to facilitate continued connection between members of the sports team network so that they may promote sports for peace and development in the region on sustainable basis.

The complex emergency in District Swat, NWFP, Pakistan, is characterised by what SYF describes as "extensive violence and loss of lives, massive displacement of people, widespread damage to the society and economy and hindrance of humanitarian assistance due to security risks and political and military constraints." To this end, the project forms were distributed through grassroots organisations, SYF's volunteers, and among sports teams at playgrounds to avoid any danger. After the first distribution ceremony on January 3 2009, a local Taliban leader reportedly condemned cricket games in a radio speech, which SYF heard as a message intended to hamper their chances of arranging further distribution ceremonies with security and confidence. As reported here, SYF staff and volunteers have confronted many hurdles and have had to travel on hilly pathways to avoid the Taliban. For example, accessing distribution ceremonies at Bahrain and Kalam was difficult when suicide attacks led to the closure of the main road from Mingora to Kalam. Avoiding security forces and continuous curfews leads staff and volunteers to pursue "an alternative and dangerous route, both by feet and by vehicles, to reach the destinations."

The report finds that, despite implementation challenges, the cricket and volleyball tournaments organised by this network have afforded participants brief periods of relaxation, and have focused attention away from the experience of loss and the paralysed economy. SYF argues that playing sports provides healthy alternatives to harmful behaviours such as drug abuse and crime. In addition, SYF claims, the tournaments have provided welcome respite for parents and caregivers, and have given adult coaches an opportunity to reinforce educational and safety messages.

An excerpt from the report follows:
"In complex emergency / man made disasters sport for peace project was a useful and valuable tool for building resilience and helping people affected by disaster to overcome trauma. It provided a safe, structured and friendly environment for people to begin to share their emotions through verbal and non verbal communication. The emphasis was on building social cohesion and to encourage community member to interact and communicate with each other....Psychosocial aspect of the sports for peace project do not have a primary focus on competition and winning but rather an emphasis on the cultivation of a cooperative and supportive environment. The culture of cooperation contributed significantly to the restoration of psychosocial and social functioning....People benefited from having regular contact with providers of physical activity who provide trust worthy and reliable role models...

Revival of Sports activities provide a forum to learn skills such as discipline, confidence and leadership and it teaches core principles such as tolerance, co-operation and respect. Sport teaches the values of effort and how to manage victory as well as defeat...

Sports for peace project help to promote social integration and foster tolerance, helping to reduce tension and generate dialogue. Establish a sense of structure and 'normalcy' in Youth's lives, which is particularly important for children affected by armed conflict and displacement. Sports for Peace project harness the power of sport and play to teach important life skills and values that can contribute toward building vibrant and peaceful communities. Participants learn how to communicate, work in teams and set goals. The project helps youth cultivate an ability to resolve conflicts peacefully through increased self-esteem and confidence in their own abilities, as well as motivation and courage to be positive agents of change. Regular activities also reduce stress, anxiety and depression, provide respite from conflict and stressful situations, and help children affected by conflict and war regain a sense of normalcy. Feedback from evaluations conducted in various areas of District Swat showcase how Sports for peace project is contributing toward decreased violence and conflict in the community and an increase in ability to resolve conflict cooperatively."

On the basis of ongoing successful execution of the sports for peace project, SYF has proposed expanding the activities into adjacent districts, namely, District Dir Lower, District Dir Upper, District Bunir, and Malakand Agency (especially in light of the fact that "the Taliban are spreading their influence in the area to indulge and recruit the local youth..."). To provide structure in an unstructured and destabilising environment and serve as a means to channel energies away from aggression and/or self-destruction, SYF hopes to help build the skills of 8,400 players on 900 teams in order to prevent conflict and build sustainable peace. Through sport, SYF plans to focus on promoting social integration and fostering tolerance, as well as helping build the character and confidence of the youth and preparing them to better meet challenges through dialogue and negotiation. That is, SYF will again draw on sport as a practical means of communicating message of peace and helping develop non-violent solutions to problems. In short, this report finds that sport can assist in creating a platform for post-conflict, peace-building, and development dialogue.

Please contact the organisation (see below) to request a copy of the 19-page report in PDF format.