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UNESCO and the Rafa Nadal Foundation launch their partnership on the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace
The Rafa Nadal Foundation and UNESCO sign this letter of intent with the aim of using sport in favour of health, education, and equality.
Fit for Life is UNESCO's flagship sport-based project to support inclusive and integrated policymaking and improve the well-being of young people around the world.
Driven by a global compact between partners, Fit for Life uses sport and impact measurement to tackle physical inactivity, mental health issues, and inequality.
The Rafa Nadal Foundation decides to partner with UNESCO through its Fit for Life project, a sport-based flagship program designed to accelerate the recovery from COVID-19, support inclusive and integrated policymaking, and improve the well-being of young people from all over the world.
By strengthening intersectoral cooperation, increasing participation in sport and documenting the impact of the intervention, Fit for Life will drive systemic and behavioural change, necessary to promote social cohesion.
Within the framework of this commitment, Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences of UNESCO, and María Francisca Perelló, Director of the Rafa Nadal Foundation, have signed a letter of intent that commits both entities to work together using sport to achieve a better world.
The Fit for Life program has five goals:
- Use the promotion of social values through sport to empower young people, promote equality and foster socio-emotional resilience.
- Increase participation in sport and quality physical education to reduce inactivity and chronic diseases (physical and mental).
- Support the development of inclusive and quality sports policies that promote health, education and equality.
- Support teachers and coaches so that they can implement quality sports education programs focused on students.
- Develop empirical evidence to support investments in sport as a recovery accelerator after COVID-19.
UNESCO is a house that promotes sport to build fairer and more inclusive societies, in which human dignity is not limited. We want to achieve a humanity where empathy, solidarity and justice prevail.
The Rafa Nadal Foundation works with the firm commitment to accompany girls, boys and young people in vulnerable situations through sport and firmly believes in its great transforming power.
Both entities come together to collaborate and weave valuable alliances in which sport is promoted as an engine of social change.
