Mission
Play4Peace is a springboard to a brighter professional future for disadvantaged youth aged 16 to 28. We develop their talent and potential through sports and education.
Our Approach?
To achieve this, Play4Peace implements an inclusive and comprehensive approach:
- Access to sports: Through free sports sessions (golf, football, rugby, boxing, and bowling), we help young people gain confidence, feel better about themselves, manage daily stress, and improve concentration.
- Education and training: Through free lectures, workshops, and coaching, we provide each young person with the tools and opportunities for their personal and professional development.
Vision
Play4Peace is driven by the deep conviction that every young person deserves a fair chance at success. Faced with glaring inequalities in the job market and a crisis of mental health among youth, where suicide is tragically prevalent, we are working to bring about lasting change. We believe in the transformative power of sports and education to shape a better future for young people, making Play4Peace not only a stepping stone to professional success but also a haven of positivity and resilience.
"Under the high patronage of His Majesty King Philippe"
Some numbers
- Each week, 150 to 220 young people participate free of charge in sports activities.
- Better academic success and reduction in the number of school dropouts.
- More than 600 young people were helped thanks to the Back2School & Back2Sport program.
- More than 800 young people have already participated in conferences, training for their personal development.
THROUGH SPORT, PLAY 4 PEACE HELPS YOUNG PEOPLE IN BRUSSELS WITH FEWER OPPORTUNITIES TO TAKE THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS SOCIAL INCLUSION
Young people with fewer opportunities face a series of complex challenges...
- Lack of self-confidence
- Lack of recognition
- Lack of inclusion in society
- Lack of a network and ignorance of opportunities (professional or personal)
- Employment-related discrimination (background, lack of a network and leadership)
This leads to a number of social problems
- 13% of young people (18-24 years old) receive a living allowance or the equivalent thereof
- Among young people, more than 1 in 10 left school prematurely, without having obtained an upper secondary school diploma
- 4 out of 10 young people in Brussels are living below the poverty threshold
And these social problems are likely to increase with the current crisis
- 45% of young Belgians are experiencing financial problems following the coronavirus crisis (Febelfin)
- 32% of young people have lost all or part of their student jobs (~ 70% have them vs. 36% in 2006), creating significant financial difficulties among them
- 32% have difficulty in paying their studies.
- 22.7% … in paying their educational costs.
- 25% … in paying their food expenses.
Sources: Baromètre social 2019, Etude droits de l'enfant 2020, Iweps and Stadbel
