We are delighted to announce that we have recently secured a five-year partnership with Sport England as one of their national system partners. Through this five year partnership, Fight for Peace has the opportunity to increase our impact with sports and youth organisations across the country, supporting them to have greater impact with young people in their communities.
This new relationship with Sport England will provide Fight for Peace with the opportunity to create systemic change by promoting the effective use of personal development as part of sports provision; increasing access to services by marginalised young people; challenging negative stereotyping that can hold young people back; championing coaches and clubs as assets of social change; and strengthening youth leadership and the voices of young people in sports organisations.
As a system partner, Fight for Peace has been selected by Sport England for investment in recognition of our strong networks, ability to achieve positive change throughout the sector, and support those with the greatest need to engage with sport and physical activity. Our experience of working with young people and communities during the pandemic is echoed in Sport England’s Active Lives Survey, which shows that inequalities have been exacerbated for some groups including people living in more deprived areas and more ethnically diverse communities.
“At the heart of our strategy, Uniting the Movement, is a relentless focus on tackling inequalities to help everyone get active – no matter who they are, where they live, or what their background is,” explained Sport England CEO Tim Hollingsworth. “We cannot do this alone, and that’s why we are building a movement of partners that share our goal to level up access to sport and physical activity.”
By partnering with experts across the sport, health and charity sectors, including Fight for Peace, Sport England are building a movement of organisations committed to levelling up access to community sport and physical activity.
“This is an extremely important partnership for Fight for Peace. We believe in the ethos of Uniting the Movement and are excited to be working alongside Sport England and other system partners, with whom we share common values and vision, to create systemic change across the country,” said Fight for Peace CEO, Jenny Oklikah.
“The Sport England investment provides Fight for Peace with greater opportunity to drive change and increase the impact of the sports and youth sectors in addressing the inequalities that young people face and improve their life chances. Collectively, we need to challenge the systemic barriers that can hold young people back and actively engage young people in strategic decision making, and delivery of services and leadership.”
“We particularly welcome the prospect of using this investment to strengthen our support and collaboration with the Fight for Peace Alliance network, made up of boxing and martial arts clubs, and youth organisations, serving communities facing disproportional levels of social and economic challenges. It builds on our work with Sport England over the last few years to support clubs working with young people in communities hardest hit by the pandemic. We are thrilled to be part of this movement to create positive change in our country.”
This is the start of a groundbreaking partnership for Fight for Peace and the next chapter in our history. We are grateful to our funders and partners who have supported our work over the years, and to the young people we serve who are a constant inspiration.
