Congratulations to Johann and the great team at Right to Play (RTP). We have been long time friends and supporters of RTP. Their commitment to sport and development, as evidenced by their program development and execution and their leading role in advocacy for this field, is inspiring. And that inspiration helps attract those with similar goals of securing a healthy, happy, and fulfilling life for the world’s children. RTP announced today a new relationship which certainly moves them toward fulfilling those goals.

Right To Play Announces Partnership with Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF)

New York, New York (February 25, 2011) – Right To Play is proud to announce a new partnership with CAF, a Latin American Development Bank, in collaboration with the Special Olympics Latin America to launch the Social Inclusion through Sports program in Latin America. The program will see the implementation of Right To Play sport and play-based programs in 10 countries over the next five years, reaching approximately 120,000 children.

“I am excited to embark upon this partnership with CAF and to form an alliance with the Special Olympics.  As a collective, the agreement allows us to reach at-risk children and young people in Latin America through the power of sport and play,” said Johann Olav Koss, Right to Play’s Founder, President and CEO. “As a pioneer in the field of Sport for Development, we have brought joy and hope to the lives of more than one million children.  Working in collaboration with CAF and the Special Olympics, we will provide children with opportunities to engage in play-based activities and to further develop critical life skills.”

Enrique García, CAF’s Executive President, added, “CAF is proud to develop this project in an effort to endorse the essential education and social integration of thousands of Latin American children using educational resources based in sport and play, and to renew and strengthen alliances in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, where we have had successful experiences.” Garcia stressed that the expected impact of the project will include improved living conditions and the social integration of participating children. CAF promotes strategies of this nature in all countries where it operates, in an effort to endorse the creation of opportunities for future generations thereby reducing the factors of inequality that persist in the region.

The Social Inclusion through Sports program, which will be officially launched at an upcoming ceremony in Caracas, Venezuela, places emphasis on sustainable development models that promote the participation of companies committed to the social development of children and young people in Latin America. The program is dedicated to improving the quality of life of marginalized and at-risk children through the use of sport and play as tools for development. It will focus on providing children and young people, including those living with disability, with comprehensive education options in urban and rural areas of Latin America.

Implemented by 2,000 Coaches, the program will be launched in educational institutions in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.  The training programs will focus on four specific areas: physical development, holistic development, the development of employable skills, and a focus on specific health-related issues including disease prevention and family planning.

Right To Play is the leading international humanitarian and development organization using sport and play as tools to effect behavior and social change in 20 countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East and South America.  Right To Play expanded its geographical footprint into South America with the launch of programs in Peru in 2008.  The expansion mobilized local volunteers, such as early childhood education centre staff and teachers trained to implement two of Right to Play’s key holistic development resources, Red Ball Child Play and Early Child Play.  Local Coaches and community leaders implement programs which are designed to develop basic life skills, prevent diseases, teach conflict resolution and instill hope in children affected by war, poverty and disease.  Right To Play reaches more than 700,000 children in regular weekly sport and play activities, and a total of more than one million children through special events and community festivals, carried out by more than 15,000 trained volunteers.  Right To Play has a permanent presence in the world of Sport and Development, with a footprint that covers four continents.

In addition to its child development programs, Right To Play is established as a force in international advocacy on behalf of every child’s right to play, and is actively involved in research and policy development in this area.

About Right to Play
Right To Play is the leading international humanitarian and development organization using sport and play as tools to effect behavior and social change. Our trained Coaches and community leaders implement our programs which are designed to develop basic life skills, prevent diseases, teach conflict resolution and instill hope in children affected by war, poverty and disease. Right To Play implements programs in 20 countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and South America. A pioneer in its field, Right To Play sets standards for quality sustainable programming, promotes best practices and advances research on the efficacy of sport-based development efforts. Founded in 2000 by Johann Olav Koss, four-time Olympic gold medalist and social entrepreneur, Right To Play fosters the hope and skills that are essential to envisioning and realizing a better future.

About CAF:
CAF is a multilateral financial institution that fosters sustainable development and regional integration that mobilizes resources from international markets to Latin America, in order to provide multiple financial services to public and private sector clients in shareholder countries. The Institution is committed to sustainable development and regional integration. Founded in 1970 and currently with 18 member countries from Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe along with 14 private banks, CAF is one of the main sources of multilateral financing and an important generator of knowledge for the region. For more information visit www.caf.com

About the Special Olympics:
Special Olympics is an international organization that changes lives by encouraging and empowering people with intellectual disabilities, promoting acceptance for all, and fostering communities of understanding and respect worldwide. Founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the Special Olympics movement has grown from a few hundred athletes to nearly 3.5 million athletes in over 170 countries in all regions of the world, providing year-round sports training, athletic competition and other related programs. Special Olympics now takes place every day, changing the lives of people with  intellectual disabilities in places like China and from regions like the Middle East to the community playgrounds and ball fields in every small neighborhood’s backyard. Special Olympics provides people with intellectual disabilities continuing opportunities to realize their potential, develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage and experience joy and friendship.

For more information, please contact:
Kathy Holding
Communications Officer
Right To Play USA
Email: kholding@righttoplayusa.org
Tel: +1 646-649-9592