Foundation for Children exhibition in Brussels
Monday, April 11, 2016
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A UEFA Foundation for Children photo exhibition featuring the Za'atari refugee camp in Jordan has been held to mark the United Nations' International Day of Sport for Development and Peace.
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A UEFA Foundation for Children photo exhibition highlighting the lives of children at the Za'atari refugee camp in Jordan was staged in Brussels on Sunday to help mark the United Nations' International Day of Sport for Development and Peace.
The exhibition, showing how football can play a key role in giving meaning to the refugee children's everyday lives, was part of a sports event organised by the Brussels Play 4 Peace (BP4P) organisation and held at the Stade Roi Baudouin in the Belgian capital.
Almost 4,500 children and young adults – boys and girls aged between eight and 20 – are involved in sport, and football in particular, at the Za'atari camp. The UEFA Foundation supplied cameras to enable the children to be creative and portray life at the camp through a lens, thereby contributing to the exhibition and promoting it beyond the borders of the Za'atari camp.
Alongside the exhibition, more than 20 different sporting activities were offered to visitors, and proceeds from the day have been earmarked for the purchase of sports equipment for homes and hospitals for children and young people.
A minute's silence was held in memory of the victims of the recent attacks in Brussels, and balloons in Belgium's colours of black, yellow and red were released into the air.
BP4P promotes the playing of sport and adherence to sport's values as an educational tool for young people, and nurtures the belief that sport is a crucial vehicle for social stability and dialogue between different political, cultural and religious communities.
The UEFA Foundation for Children reflects UEFA's wish to play a more active role in society, and makes use of sport to support humanitarian projects linked to children's rights in areas such as health, education and integration.
The foundation's objective is also to help children and safeguard their rights, as well as to promote access to sporting activity, facilitating children's personal development and fostering the integration of minorities.