Youth Charter celebrates 32 years: A call for greater support for its Community Campus and Sport for Development for Peace
The Youth Charter (www.YouthCharter.org) proudly marks its 32nd anniversary, celebrating over three decades of using sport as a catalyst for social change. As we reflect on our journey, we reaffirm our call for greater support in advancing the Youth Charter Community Campus model—providing safe, inclusive, and transformative spaces where young people from disadvantaged and disaffected communities can thrive through sport, art, culture, and digital engagement.
This milestone comes at a historic moment for global sport. With the election of Africa’s first woman IOC President, we witness a groundbreaking shift towards greater equity, representation, and opportunity in international sport leadership. This is further reinforced by the evolving IOC-UN Accord, which strengthens the role of sport as a tool for sustainable development, peace, and inclusion.
The Youth Charter stands ready to build on these global commitments by driving grassroots change. The Community Campus initiative offers young people and their communities the resources, mentorship, and structured pathways they need to develop skills, confidence, and resilience. However, for these efforts to reach their full potential, we call for:
- Increased investment from policymakers, businesses, and governing bodies to expand our Community Campus network.
- Stronger partnerships with national and international sports organisations to embed sport for development at every level.
- Greater recognition of sport’s role in addressing social inequality, mental health, and economic opportunities for young people.
“At a time when global sport is embracing diversity, inclusion, and development, we must ensure that these principles translate into tangible action for the most marginalized communities,” said Geoff Thompson, Founder of Youth Charter. “We urge all stakeholders, governments, private sector leaders, and the international sporting community to support initiatives like the Youth Charter Community Campus and truly unlock sport’s potential as a force for good.”
As we celebrate 32 years of impact, the Youth Charter remains committed to ensuring that every young person, regardless of background, has access to the life-changing opportunities that sport can provide.
Join us in shaping a more equitable future, one where sport transforms lives, communities, and society as a whole.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Youth Charter.
For further information, contact:
contact@youthcharter.org
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About Youth Charter:
The Youth Charter is a UK registered charity and UN accredited non-governmental organisation. Launched in 1993 as part of the Manchester 2000 Olympic Bid and the 2002 Commonwealth Games, the Youth Charter has Campaigned and Promoted the role and value of sport, art, culture and digital technology in the lives of disaffected young people from disadvantaged communities nationally and internationally. The Youth Charter has a proven track record in the creation and delivery of social and human development programmes with the overall aim of providing young people with an opportunity to develop in life.
Specifically, The Youth Charter Tackles educational non-attainment, health inequality, anti-social behaviour and the negative effects of crime, drugs, gang related activity and racism by applying the ethics of sporting and artistic excellence. These can then be translated to provide social and economic benefits of citizenship, rights responsibilities, with improved education, health, social order, environment and college, university, employment and enterprise.
The Youth Charter (www.YouthCharter.org) is a UK registered charity and United Nations Non-Governmental Organization.
Youth Charter
Dame Mary Glen Haig Office for Sport for Development and Peace
London Stadium Learning
London Stadium
London
E20 2ST
