“Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair.” Nelson Mandela, Laureus World Sports Awards, Monaco 2000. The vision of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation as elaborated above by Laureus' Patron Nelson Mandela is "Sport has the power to change the world." Its mission is to use the power of sport to address social challenges through the support of sports-related community development initiatives, using sport as a tool for social change. Edwin Moses, the Foundation's Chairman, summed up Laureus' bold mission with the following words: "As long as there are people on the ground who are inspired enough to give up their time to set up these projects, you'll find Laureus there to support them. Wherever you look, you'll see Laureus Academy members striving to establish new projects, whether it’s Emerson Fittipaldi in Brazil, Morné du Plessis in South Africa, Hugo Porta in Argentina, Boris Becker in Germany or Kapil Dev in India. These are men and women who achieved what they did in sport because they never gave up. That energy and drive now goes into Laureus, and the beneficiaries are underprivileged youngsters around the world." The Laureus Sport for Good Foundation's objective is to help young people overcome the limitations imposed by challenging social issues including poverty, homelessness, war, violence, drug abuse, discrimination and AIDS. |
