"UEFA EURO 2012 is the beginning, not the end"
Yaroslav Hrybalskyy is the chairman of t...
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UEFA is supporting a number of social projects at UEFA EURO 2012 in Poland and Ukraine under the umbrella of RESPECT:
Respect Fan Culture
At EURO 2012, Football Supporters Europe (FSE) will run Fans Embassy services in all eight host cities under the motto “by fans for fans”, with the aim to promote positive and peaceful fan culture and thus to contribute to a festive atmosphere at EURO 2012.
Respect Diversity
EURO 2012 offers a unique chance to promote a positive message of diversity. The programme will be delivered on behalf of FARE by the long established regional partner, the ‘Never Again’ Association. Civil society organisations, and ethnic minorities in particular, have been motivated to engage with the preparations. Important stakeholders have signed up to the anti-discrimination agenda.
The FARE activities concentrate on minimizing the risk of racist incidents during the tournament as well as promotion of anti-discrimination measures.
Respect your Health
RESPECT YOUR HEALTH - Euroschools 2012 is the official community health education program of the UEFA EURO 2012. This one-year project will promote healthy lifestyles, with a focus on smoking prevention/cessation, healthy diet, alcohol abstinence and physical activity among youth and their parents in Poland and the Ukraine. Through a train the trainers approach, local institutions and NGOs in the eight UEFA EURO 2012 host cities will be empowered to activate their communities and promote good health. A toolkit manual will guide coaches, teachers and animators on how to use the power of football and sport to engage communities, increase health literacy levels and establish a common feeling of ownership for the usage of public sports grounds within the communities.
Respect Inclusion
Subproject: Access
Good access is essential for disabled people to be able to exercise their rights and to participate fully in society. EURO 2012 and the Respect Inclusion (Football with No Limits) project, which will be delivered by the Centre for Access to Football in Europe, provides an opportunity to improve access to football and for the removal of physical, sensory, psychological and intellectual barriers in public places in the region. It is recognised that supporting football is an integral and vital part of European culture and tradition. Football supporters are increasingly diverse; and naturally include many disabled people who wish to attend football matches.
Subproject: Charity
Official charity partners were successfully appointed for EURO 2004 and 2008. The Centre for Access to Football in Europe (CAFE) has been appointed as the official tournament charity for UEFA EURO 2012. This will enable CAFE to continue its important project beyond EURO 2012 by working with local partners in both Poland and Ukraine who have come together through football to promote improved access for disabled people within the region.
Subproject: Showcase
Previously in 2008 the quarter finals of the EURO in Austria and Switzerland were devoted to four different groups of disabled people. The matches were played before the quarter finals. For 2012 the quarter finals will be again be devoted to disabled sports. In addition, the recommendations outlined in the evaluation report of EURO 2008 shall be implemented. The following four groups of disabled football teams are planned to be integrated:
(1) blind children,
(2) learning disabled children,
(3) deaf children,
(4) children with cerebral palsy.
The first two groups will be from Poland and the latter two from Ukraine.