Speech of Valeri Cholaria

 

 

 

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen

 
Cross Cultures Project Association (CCPA) being a politically independent, non-profit, and humanitarian organization has been implementing Open Fun Football Schools’ project (OFFS)  in Trans-Caucasus (Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan) since 2003, in Moldova – since 2006 and planning to launch the project in Ukraine in 2010.

 

The objective of Open Fun Football Schools is to use joyful games and the pedagogical “fun-football-concept” to stimulate the process of development of peace and stability, social cohesion of antagonistic groups by strengthening friendships and sports co-operation among municipalities, football clubs, elementary schools, leaders, coaches and children, while at the same time promote grassroots football and the basic principles of “sports for all”.

 

The implementation of the OFFS program in the aforesaid countries in the current political situation is undoubtedly a great support facilitating the establishment of peace and confidence in the conflict areas.

 

The OFFS program plays a definite positive role in the peaceful settlement of the conflicts. Within 2003-2009 we implemented 281 schools, involving 54 162 children, including 30% girls; 3943 OFFS leaders and coaches had been trained. We managed to solve, may be on the local scale so far, a very important matter – the living and training together of the OFFS instructors, leaders and trainers from Armenia and Azerbaijan on the territory of Georgia as well as the OFFS staff from Transnistria and Moldova in Chisinau. We would like to specially note the participation of the children from these regions in the joint international and border schools in Georgia and Moldova. Adults and children live, play, train together within 3-5 days. We do hope that such joint seminars and schools as we have in Moldova/Transnistria will be implemented in Armenia and Azerbaijan in the nearest future. Here we would like to draw your attention to the fact that such superior bodies as FIFA and UEFA, in due course were not able to solve the question of direct matches’ organization between Armenia and Azerbaijan and today the aforesaid countries are being still pulled apart during the official draws for the international tournaments. 

 

The knowledge received by our staff at the OFFS seminars and donated to schools the OFFS equipment allow us to implement the follow-up activity too, participate in different sport and social events. And if we take into consideration that hard economic crisis our countries have been going through, that miserable status of our refugees and families with low income we will see that such events and festivals are serious financial and moral support to the poor sections of population.

 

We managed to integrate the OFFS program into the respective National Football Federations’ activity and we closely cooperate on the mutually beneficial basis.  Moreover, the best OFFS employees were elected as members of FA “Grassroots” committees and work as manages and teachers of the “C” and “D” football coach license training courses. Today, the OFFS Manual, printed in the local languages, is the only textbook for the youth football coaches in our countries and it is in popular demand of those teachers and trainers of the football/sport schools and clubs, which are no involved in the OFFS operation.

 

We constantly enjoy the active support of all parties concerned, in particular, the ministry of sports, ministry of education, ministry of environment protection, municipalities, National football federations, sponsors, volunteers, parents, not only in the implementation of the schools, but also in the OFFS follow-up routine activity. As a result of their active direct or indirect participation in the OFFS program only in 2009 they built 55 mini pitches with natural and artificial covering, 59 standard football pitches, 15 stadiums, 4 different sport buildings and installations. We organized 195 events for the orphans, 225 events for the children of refugees, 24 events for the children of other categories, including diabetic children, children with heart cases and disabled children. 697 parents became either sponsors or volunteers of the OFFS program.

 

The OFFS program implementation gave an impetus to the development of the female kind of sports in our countries, where the female participation in sports is still considered to be a problematic one. Beginning from 2003 up to 2009, the percentage of the girls’ participation in the OFFS operation increased from 13 up to 30%. This is a good evidence of the fact that our girls are gradually occupying a proper place in the big sport family. A very good trend has been set recently, in particular, the girls, who took part in the OFFS operation, began to appear in the composition of the National Female teams or became members of the football clubs in their respective countries. At the same time, the former female football players, who already ended their carrier, joint to OFFS program as OFFS instructors. Today, practically all OFFS instructors are actually former football players.

 

We are in the process of sharing of the experience now, that is why I would like to draw your attention to some very important arrangements made by the OFFS Regional Branch while the OFFS project realization.
In Armenia, for instance, beginning from 2006, the OFFS program elements, exercises and events had been gradually introduced in the lessons of physical education at the secondary schools. The positive influence of this undertaking on the general physical development of pupils turned out to be of use and following the joint decision taken by the Ministry of Education of Armenia, National Football Federation and OFFS office in Armenia the OFFS program was included into the secondary schools’ curriculum as a mandatory part of the regular lessons of physical education all over the territory of Armenia. Today, every third lesson of physical education is the football lesson which is implemented in all 1500 schools in Armenia.

 

In Moldova the OFFS program is unusually popular in the boarding houses among the disabled children and social cases. The “Step by Step” football program is extending every day. I cannot help mentioning the fact which took place in Dubassari settlement/Moldova exactly on the day when we were going to start the OFFS border school operation there. The children from Transnistria were brought to the Moldova border by buses, but the local border guards did not allow the children to cross the border and enter the territory of Moldova without the additional permission of the local authorities. And then, 96 children decided not to wait for any additional permission, they pour out of the buses and hurry across the border. The border guard could do nothing… and the school was successfully started without any further problems.

 

I would like to mention also the organization of the border schools at the

frontier of Moldova and Ukraine with the participation of the sister cities Okintsi and Sokirjani. The positive influence of this school operation on the process of bringing children together gave an impetus to the authorities in Ukraine, in particular, National Football Federation and local municipalities to introduce the OFFS program in Ukraine beginning from 2010. I already mentioned this fact above.

 

In Georgia, according to the local mentality, the OFFS follow-up activity and participation of children in different OFFS events, sport competitions and festivals is particularly popular. But we have been facing with more challenges in this field of activity lately because the situation at the borders of the temporarily occupied Georgian territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, secured by the Russian border guards, has been changing every day. For the first we came across serious difficulties last year when we wanted to deliver the OFFS equipment for the children, residing on the occupied territories. The Russian border guards did not allow us to transport the donated cargo across the border. But anyway, we found the solution to this problem: local population including parents, coaches and their assistants crossed the border, distributed the cargo and carried it back to the territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Thus, we managed to partially solve the problem because they did not allow the refugee children to enter the territories of the aforesaid regions and we had to organize schools’ operation for them separately in the refugee camps located on the territory of Georgia.

 

It is necessary to remember an incident which took place in Eredvi village in South Ossetia in 2004 when we held the OFFS school there while the military operations took place in the vicinity. The school had been successfully operated for two days, but on the third day they suddenly they started the heavy artillery bombardment from both sides. The shells had been flying right above our heads over the stadium. It was a real shock! But as soon as the enemies learnt about the playing children on the pitch below the ceased fire at once and we managed to safely evacuate the children, staff and the OFFS equipment. 

 

Our donors in Azerbaijan (HydroStatOil and SOCAR) support our program not only financially, - the children of the employees of the aforesaid companies are the active participants of the OFFS operation. The parents bring their children practically to all OFFS events organized by our branch office in Azerbaijan. The most popular events are different OFFS festivals, organized jointly by various sport and public organizations under the aegis of fun football. As a rule such events attract not only children, but their parents too. The officials of our donor companies usually invite photographers to take shots of their children and one can find them often on the office stands or in the wall newspapers. 

 

Of course, the whole OFFS activity, organized by the OFFS regional Branch and its local branch offices in Trans-Caucasus and Moldova, is widely highlighted by the central and local mass media, radio and television in the respective countries.

 

As a result of the analysis of our past activity and the feedback received from the parties concerned we can make emphasis on the following positive and major changes which were influenced by implementation of the OFFS program in our countries:

 

1. The level of competition between the districts to have a chance to participate in the annual OFFS operation significantly increased.

 

2. The number of girls, participating in the OFFS project, also increased significantly. And we have more female OFFS instructors, leaders and coaches today.

 

3. The mass media, television and radio show greater interest towards the OFFS operation and the follow-up activity. The coverage is positive as a whole.

 

4. The number of the children picked up from the “street” to participate in the OFFS operation rose dramatically and what was most important, the majority of these children expressed their wish to join a football club or special sport.

 

5. As a result of the OFFS operation, the communication between the schools within and outside one country became much better. They arrange different events, friendly matches and invite their OFFS mates from other districts or countries to participate in them.

 

6. The OFFS instructors have been constantly upgrading their qualification level and share the experience at the annual OFFS seminars and today they have become real professionals who meet the CCPA requirements in the implementation of the OFFS program.

Thank you for your attention! If you have any questions I am ready to answer right now…

 

 

 

Slide 5 

 

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