Sports for Sharing: integrating civic education into children’s lives in a fun, meaningful way.

Problem

Sports for Sharing addresses diverse negative social symptoms that add up to a lack of social cohesion in Mexico. Mexicans are a culturally diverse people but ignorance limits cross-cultural integration. 9 out of 10 indigenous group members feel that their community is discriminated against. General distrust is high among Mexicans; only 2 out of 10 believe it is sensible to trust another. Violence also threatens Mexico, 16th among 115 nations in crime rates, a fact strongly manifested at the domestic level; 75% of juvenile delinquents are victims of family violence. All this calls for an out-of-the-box approach to civic education.

Solution

Our solution is integrating civic education into children’s lives through games and sporting activities. Sports for Sharing is driven by three objectives: raising social awareness, heightening cultural appreciation and promoting healthy living. Children take part in a semester-long program that opens their eyes to pressing social problems, strengthens their self-confidence, and allows them to understand the power of solidarity through fun practical simulations. We utilize children’s natural and universal language – playing – to instil critical values and skills that favor positive, healthy interactions between individuals and society. Our recreational methodology is proven effective in helping children grasp the value of harmonious living effortlessly.

Example

An important component of Sports for Sharing is a treasure-chest exchange conducted every semester among participating schools. Throughout the course of the program, children collectively select objects that are representative of their cultural pride and identity and pack them up in creatively-crafted boxes to be sent to other communities. The only rule is that contents must be hand-made or part of the natural environment. At the end of the semester, boxes are strategically exchanged and each school receives a treasure-chest from a distant, contrasting community. For example we place boxes from rural schools in urban ones, boxes from coastal regions in mountainous areas and a private school might exchange their chest with an indigenous academic shelter. The purpose of this activity is to bridge cultural and social realities. When children come into contact with each other’s treasured objects they awaken their curiosity, respect and appreciation for diversity. One of our most beloved anecdotes is an urban child’s uncontainable excitement with a hand-crafted toy created by a Raramuri indigenous child. The first child might have felt indifference or pity, at best, for the second prior to this experience that gave him new appreciation and admiration for another child living in a different socio-cultural context.

Marketplace

Any other program or organization working to address the need for civic education is our ally. Every effort counts towards delivering civic values, empathy and social awareness to the 26 million children enrolled in Mexico’s elementary schools. We believe deeply in our method but recognize value in other approaches. Diseña el Cambio, for example, is a program that gets children involved with their communities by stimulating them to design and launch social initiatives. I sincerely believe that Mexico has more than enough schools and children in need of civic instruction to worry about two programs getting in each other’s way.