12 August 2009

Sarajevo-Ilidža, Bosnia and Herzegovina: Soccer legends Sergej Barbarez and Ivica Osim cheered on a special sporting event organized by UNV and an award-winning Bosnian NGO.

About 250 boys and girls took part in the open street action in Sarajevo-Ilidža, organized by UNV and Open Fun Football Schools (OFFS) . The activities for International Youth Day, held on 12 August annually, helped youth learn new skills and raised awareness of environmental issues.

The main attraction was ex-Bosnia and Herzegovina football captain Sergej Barbarez, who also previously played for German Bundesliga teams Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund and Hamburger SV. He was joined by Ivica Osim, who formerly coached Greek team Panathinaikos as well as the Yugoslav and Japanese national squads.

The main purpose of the event was to underline the impact of sport programmes focused on the integration, reconciliation and informal education of youngsters. “The development and integration potential of sport projects in Bosnia is huge,” stressed Robin Ujfaluši from UNV.

“Sport, and particularly football, is able to connect people in a way which is entirely natural for youngsters. Games organized in a positive spirit connect kids as well as volunteering trainers,” he added.

A stand organized by UNV volunteers also focused on the topic of environmental sustainability. The youth were shown just how much packing material we consume every day – and how much we actually need – through creative recycling-based activities.

All the participants were excited by the presence of the football stars who received a warm and noisy welcome. Their participation also won the event some press coverage. As Sergej Barbarez said to prominent local daily newspaper Oslobodenje: “This is something great, designed as an event full of fun. Kids are given an opportunity to train and master football skills. The festival is even more important when recognized by the UN. I am glad something like this is organized in our country.”

Open Fun Football Schools (OFFS) is a local success story. It started in 1998, organizing more than 200 summer camps involving more than 60,000 youths and 5,000 adult trainers. It now works in 12 countries of the Central and Eastern Europe and Arab regions. In 2008, OFFS was recognized with the ‘Sport for Peace’ award by the ‘Beyond Sport’ foundation, which is represented by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and other prominent figures from sport and politics.

Esad Hadžijusufović, director of the OFFS Sarajevo office, said: “The kids are the most important thing. Our mission is to bring them together, give them fun and share with them positive values through football. All this would not be possible without massive volunteer engagement of our committed trainers.”

The International Youth Day street action presented sport volunteerism as a meaningful and rewarding activity for youth as well as for the community, said UNV volunteer Robin Ujfaluši. “Igram, volontiram, uživam [playing, volunteering, enjoying] were the main buzzwords of the event,” he remarked.