United Nations Development Programme

Sports for PeaceSustainable Development through Peace Building,Governance and Economic Recovery – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Project Address:Crisis Prevention & Recovery UnitHouse # 124, Street # 11, Sector E-7, Islamabad, Pakistan.Tel: (92-51) 265-2840Fax: (92-51) 265-2536Website: http://www.undp.org.pk

UNDP is the UN’s global development network, advocating for change and

connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help

people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working

with them on their own solutions to global and national development chal-

lenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP

and our wide range of partners.

Photo Credits:Aaj TVExpress Tribune105 Brigade

PDMA / PaRRSAKhyber Pakhtunkhwa Sports boardHawk Adventure Club

HRDCPMUNadya Raza

Sports for PeaceSustainable Development through Peace Building,

Governance and Economic Recovery – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

United Nations Development Programme

Fromthe People of Japan

01

This publication is a brief overview of some of the many initiatives taken

under the programme’s wing for sports.

Dedicated to the undeterred spirit of the people of the Malakand Division.

Though they have endured more hardships and loss in one lifetime

than imaginable, but their resolve grows stronger with each passing day.

Acknowledgements

We hope and work towards bringing a new dawn for them - one of peace and security.

his publication would not have been possible was it not for the vision and

contribution of a few very important individuals:

Ms. Rabia Khattak – Chief Crisis Prevention and Recovery Unit (CPRU), UNDP

Pakistan and Ms. Faiqa Umer – Programme Officer, CPRU, UNDP Pakistan for

their vision of emphasizing on content that would highlight the substantive

efforts made under the programme for the revival of peace and reduction of

youths vulnerability towards extremism.

Ms. Mehvish Javed – Information Management & Communication Associate,

Peace and Development Programme, without extensive support from her, this

publication would not have been possible.

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Intro

duct

ion

n any conflict affected area, the vulnerability of its

youth towards violence and conflict is a major probability.

Sporting activities may not directly discourage violent

behavior but they help in fostering feelings of camaraderie &

team spirit. Presuming that sports participation might be of

help in preventing adolescents from delinquency and

violence, the UNDP Peace and Development Programme in

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has made massive efforts in the

launch of some very successful sports interventions

throughout the Malakand Division. Intro

duct

ion These interventions comprise of a Peace Ski Gala held in January 2011, which

was the first ever Skiing event held in Swat after the Taliban had brought down

the holiday and skiing resort in 2007.

a number of cricket, football, basketball and badminton events which were orga-

nized in Swat and Buner but focused only on people with physical and/or other

disabilities.

Conduction of “Sports Business Management Trainings” in Swat & Buner, the

primary objective of which was to improve the local sports clubs in Swat and

Buner for the benefit of their members and local communities by enhancing the

business management skills of the club managers.

In addition to the above and suffice to say, THE MOST prominent sports event,

aimed at the rekindling of peace in the region, the “Spirit of Swat” was held from

June 18 – July 26. The resounding success and appreciation of this festival is a

significant achievement under the Programme’s belt.

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Ski Gala 2011Pe

ace

Year 2007. . . the picturesque valley of Swat is taken over by the Taliban. Malam

Jabba, home to the largest ski resort in Pakistan, equipped with modern facilities

including roller/ice-skating rinks, chair lifts, skiing platforms, telephones and snow

clearing equipment, suffers the same fate as many other strongly opposed “forms of

entertainment” during the Taliban regime.

The entire chair lift system is brought down to shut down the resort. It works. For the

next 2 years the resort that was once bursting with the echoes of families, children and

tourists, almost overnight transforms into yet another deserted and shattered part of

Swat.

After over 3 years of Malam Jabba’s forced ill fate, the Peace & Development Pro-

gramme, under their Peace Building & Social Cohesion Interventions, along with

PDMA/PaRRSA, initiated the “Peace Ski Gala 2011.”

Eight teams, including Swat Red Club, Swat Green Club, Swat Tiger Club, Malakand

Division Club, Hazara Division Club, Swat Blue Club, and Swat Shaheen Club partici-

pated in the event which was attended by hundreds of skiing enthusiasts.

The success of the event not only marks the restoration of peace in the valley but it is

also hoped that the successful completion of the gala would once again bring the

focus back on Swat as it dusts itself off and looks ahead to a future without the bomb-

ings and the threat of militancy.

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08 09

UNDP realizes that persons with disabilities suffer more so.

Not only do they suffer from a low level of participation in most

facets of life, but are also susceptible to considerably low and

prejudiced status of living; negligible participation in social events,

complete dependency on other family members for survival and

more often than not, the probability of never having a family unit of

their own, are just some of the basic human needs they almost, never

get to experience.

Due to this need, UNDP’s Peace & Development Programme involved

them in social events and sports and created opportunities in this regard.

The AWS project in collaboration with UNDP was a step towards

providing a forum to persons with disabilities, and also an effort to

induce within the masses, acceptance and compassion towards

them.

The execution strategy was based on the following important

elements in Districts Swat & Buner:

i) Conduction of sports events for persons with various

disabilities, from Swat and Buner

ii) Initial contact with the District Government

iii) Conduction of a “Sports for Disabled Need

Assessment” (S4DNA)

iv) On the basis S4DNA recommended,

selection of sports for persons with disabilities

and the subsequent formation of 18 sports teams

v) Formation of 21 teams of persons with disabilities,

ranging within the 15-30 years age bracket

Over 180 people with various disabilities (deaf, mute

and physically disabled) were given the opportunity to

participate in a number of cricket, football, volleyball,

basketball and badminton matches.

The feedback and response was immense whereby the

participants expressed how grave the need for interventions

of this nature is.

Engaging people withdisabilities throughsports and improvingtheir life status

jovial zephyr

10 11

The “Sports Business Management Training” was organized for Sports Clubs Managers in the Swat and Buner Districts of the Malakand Division. The trainings were organized and conducted by Human Resource Development Center (HRDC) – Institute of Management Sciences (IM Sciences) Peshawar.The primary objective of the Sports Business Management Trainings was to improve the local sports clubs in Swat and Buner for the benefit of their members and local commu-nities, by enhancing the business management skills of the club managers.

Follow up of targeted club activities after trainings

One day refresher course on the same subject and the development of an

action plan

Assessment of specific needs oftar geted clubs as per recommendations

Trainings for identified specific needs

Counseling sessions with trained members of the club

Develop linkages of mentors with trained club members

Exposure visits for targeted clubs

The development of a 2-Day training manual, based on a previously conducted needs assessment of sports clubs in the targeted areaOrganization and conduction of a 2 –day Sports Business Management training workshop, at districts Swat and BunerSuccessful training of 150 club managers/key members in four batches (two in each district) - Sim ltaneously

Sports Business Management Trainings

A total of a174 individuals were trained on sports business management. Their break up is as follows:

District TotalSwat 98Buner 76Total 174

Following steps were decided upon as the way forward:

The main achievements under this initiative were:

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ith the assistance of PaRRSA, a 45 days long sports

festival (June 18 – July 26, 2011) was held in Swat. The primary

objective of this festival was the revival of tourism, changing the

mindset of the people towards the area and bringing together the

community for promotion of social cohesion. The ceremony started

amidst a marvelous spate of fireworks, followed by a grand musical

night and cultural exhibition. The event was held in the Grassy

ground of Mingora, attended by an unprecedented gathering of

almost 25,000 people including women..

Over 20 sports events, encompassing Car Racing, Hockey, Volley-

ball, Football, Badminton, Bodybuilding, Squash, Taekwondo,

Marathon, Polo and Mountain Biking were organized. Amid variety

of sporting events, the first one was Spirit of Swat Car Rally orga-

nized on 15th June, 2011, which started from the Attock district and

ended at Grassy Ground in Mingora grabbing huge attention of the

people throughout the country. Up to 45 vehicles took part in the

competition.

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Cricket and Sprint Hockey

A hockey tournament was launched in Swat from 18th to 23rd June. A total of 12 teams of

KP took part in the tournament, where matches were held amongst local and regional

teams. Peshawar and Mardan secured a position in the finals of the Men’s Hockey event

played at the Makan Bagh Hockey ground, Swat. The Semi finals were played between

Buner and Peshawar, and Abbotabad and Mardan. Provincial Minister for Forest and Envi-

ronment, Wajid Ali Shah was the chief guest of the event who gave away trophies and cash

prizes to the winner and runners-up in addition to distributing UNDP funded, hockey game

equipment to all the 36 registered clubs of Swat and 12 other participating teams.

Cricket and Sprint for persons with disabilities was organized under the Spirit of Swat

festival on 18th June, 2011, which received enormous encouragement, for motivating

the disadvantaged groups of the society and making them a part of this huge festival.

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Football

A total of 12 teams participated in the men’s volleyball tournament which commenced from

the 23rd to the 28th of June. The event was held at the Swat Public School. Teams from

Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, Upper Dir, Lower Dir, Hazara, Mardan, Peshawar, Swat, Shangla,

Buner and Waziristan took part in the competition.

It is worth noting that volleyball is one of the prominent sports of the area, which made the

contest significantly appreciated by the spectators.

Another important event under the Spirit of Swat Festival was the Men’s Football Tour-

nament which commenced on the 28th of June at the Kabal Football ground in col-

laboration with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sports Board and the District Football Asso-

ciation.

Volleyball

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A badminton tournament under the festival also accredited huge support from the enthusi-

asts of the game. The event was held from the 19th to the 21st of June at the indoor hall of

the Makan Bagh Sports Complex.

Trophies and cash prizes were awarded to the winners and runner-ups. Rs. 25000 were

awarded to the winning whereas Rs. 15000 were awarded to the runner-up teams. Badmin-

ton sports kits were also distributed among all the players of the12 participating teams.

Polo: most popularly referred to as "the game of kings and the king of games,"

throughout the Northern region of Pakistan, was introduced for the first time in the

Malakand Division, during the festival.

PoloPolo Badminton

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“It gives me great pleasure to be here.

I feel honored to fly the biggest flag

over Swat Valley, which is indeed a very

memorable occasion and I am ex-

tremely thankful to the authorities for all

their cooperation,” said Andrew while

talking to media persons. (Published in

The Express Tribune, July 17th, 2011.)

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It was most appropriate that an event of such magnitude ends with yet another feather in its cap – the setting of a new “World Record.” The highest “Flag Jump” was made by a British sky diver (Andrew) from a height of 3660 meters (10,000 ft).

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The Spirit of Swat, has truly proved to be a one of its kind event.

Tens of games, hundreds of participants and thousands of spectators,

seemed to be the order of the day for over a month.

In addition to the formerly mentioned sports many more events were

organized under the festival. These included:

1) Taekwondo 2) Basketball 3) Mountain Bicycling 4) Table Tennis

5) Boat jala 6) Rickshaw Rallies 7) Car Rally 8) Tug of war

9) Marathons 10) Karate 11) Boxing 12) Kabbaddi

13) Body Building 14) Circus26 27