UNICEF promotes power of sport for development of Vietnamese children

Hanoi (VNA) – The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Vietnam has called on the community to promote the power of sport to drive inclusion; build skills, competencies, confidence and to support mental wellbeing of children and adolescents in Vietnam, on the occasion of World Children’s Day (WCD) (November 20).

WCD is celebrated every year on November 20 to mark the anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1989 in order to promote the rights of every child. This year, WCD coincides with the 2022 FIFA World Cup kick-off. 

Across the country, WCD activities have started earlier this month with the “Football without Limits” initiative, a collaboration between UNICEF, the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) and the National School Sports Association. It aims to provide footballs to children in around 30,000 schools and beyond, as well as resources on the essential role sport plays in fostering healthy wellbeing and development of children, especially girls. The initiative will continue over the coming year, embracing the Women’s Football World Cup in 2023. 

National and international football stars have also joined hands with UNICEF through an awareness campaign to inspire the public to come together as one team to get childhood back on track. UNICEF also encourages everybody to join hands in creating change and progress for every child.

To showcase the power of sport for children’s development, UNICEF is encouraging team sports, especially girls to join sport activities, and supporting the MoET to make this a reality. 

According to UNICEF, as the first country in the East Asia and Pacific region to ratify the CRC in 1990, Vietnam has made tremendous progress for its 27 million children moving progressively to ensure that they all are healthy, educated, protected in safe and clean environments and empowered to reach their full potential.

Rana Flowers, UNICEF Representative in Vietnam said with notable results across various areas and active engagement in key priorities such as the digital transformation for the education system, Vietnam shows impressive capacity to bring positive change for every child./.