Cityzens Giving Young Leaders connect on World Children’s Day to celebrate the power of football to uplift city kids.
Today, Friday 20 November, Cityzens Giving Young Leaders in over 20 cities around the world are leading a series of virtual and in-person activities to engage and uplift children in their communities through the power of football.
Following the first ever virtual Young Leaders Summit in July, Cityzens Giving launched a new global learning network which aims to connect young leaders to share innovation and expertise in community football, further their leadership skills, and deepen the positive impact for city kids in local communities.
To that end, Youth Leadership Councils have been set up across three regions, led by City in the Community representatives from Manchester, New York and Melbourne. Their first task was to create a series of regional forums, beginning with World Children’s Day.
As part of the initiative, Cisco technology is powering the connectivity and collaboration between Young Leaders in more than 20 cities throughout the year, helping to accelerate this impact for children and young people all around the globe.
Events kicked off on Thursday with a live City Talk featuring Young Leaders from Manchester, New York and Melbourne sharing their experiences of using football as a tool to uplift city kids across the globe.
Melbourne City FC’s Abraham Abraham said: “This is a wonderful way to celebrate such an important day and connect youngsters from diverse backgrounds and different parts of the world during a challenging period that is the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“Today is a day to reimagine a better future for every child and we continue to do this on a daily basis through the power of football and education,” he added.
“We’ve been working really closely with our fellow teams in Asia – Bandung, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing & Guangzhou – and can’t wait for an exciting day ahead.”
Today and over the weekend, a series of youth-led activities are taking place, including digitally connecting kids from different cities via Cisco Webex; creative games, quizzes, competitions, and football challenges; and practical football sessions to educate participants about children’s rights.
This forms part of our mission to empower city kids through football and help communities around the world to get back on their feet in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stay tuned to find out how they got on.
