SPORT FOR GOOD cITY PARIS

In 2019, Laureus Sport for Good launched the Sport for Good City initiative in Paris to improve the lives of young people in local communities through sport. The project employs a bottom-up approach, empowering communities to identify and tackle issues that matter most to them using sport and physical activity. A coalition of local stakeholders was established who work closely with Laureus to deliver the programme objectives and positively impact the lives of young people across the city.

objectives

Sport for Good City Paris aims to achieve three key objectives using sports-based approaches:

- Access to Employment - Young people better equipped to build their future and have more access to employment
- Mental Health & Wellbeing - Young people have more self-confidence, a sense of well-being and better mental health
- Improved Social Inclusion & Cohesion - Young people feel better included in society, integrated into communities beyond their neighbourhood, and given equal opportunities

strategy

Our Paris-based Laureus Community Coordinator plays an essential role in ensuring the effective running of the coalitions and facilitating collaborations between grassroots organisations to support them to deliver their objectives. We focus on delivering three strategic priorities:

1. Building A Network

The Laureus Community Coordinator has built trust with local stakeholders leading to Sport for Good City Paris growing to over 40 representatives and organisations. Our primary focus is to facilitate collaboration and knowledge sharing enabling the coalition to achieve its vision for change, raise the profile of Sport for Good City Paris in the community, and support the long-term sustainability of the initiative.

2. Grant Funding

Sport for Good Paris employs a participatory grant-making model, ensuring that coalition members and organisations have a significant say in how funding is allocated. To date Sport for Good City Paris has funded and supported 17 programmes delivering sport for development sessions for over 6,000 young people.

3. Capacity Building

Sport for Good City Paris has hosted training and workshops for organisations to enhance their expertise in using sport for development, gender equity, safeguarding and impact measurement. Improving the quality and sustainability of grassroots activities delivered by our coalition members.

project impacts

We commissioned an independent evaluation of the Sport for Good City Paris programme starting in 2021 which measured the effectiveness of the Sport for Good City Paris programme and its impact on young people over the initial 3-year pilot period. Below are the headlines of the impact achieved in each of our objective areas:

Access to Employment
- 71% of young people gained new skills for future employment
- More than 500 young people received employability training
- More than 130 young people successfully secured jobs, work-study placements or apprenticeships

Mental Health & Wellbeing
- 92% of young people reported feeling physically healthier
- 66% of young people reported improved mental health
- Women and Girls reported a 52% increase in self-confidence

Improved social inclusion and cohesion
- 94% of the participants felt more included
- 71% of participants formed new friendships

key successes

Beyond the statistics, the evaluation showed that the Sport for Good City Paris initiative achieved the following key successes:

Broke down neighbourhood silos

Youth engaged in collective sport for development activities which united young people who often don’t engage with each other, broke down neighbourhood silos and fostered interconnectedness.

Women and girls have more confidence

Women and girls had a safe space, that was just their own, to take part in sports activities for the first time. They gained confidence, developed skills, and felt more empowered to build their own future.

Young people found employment

Young people developed confidence in themselves and re-engaged more positively with education. As a result, more young people took up work placement experiences, developed career-specific skills and found good employment opportunities.

You can read about the evaluation findings in full at the link below.

click here to see the report