UN Joint Programme on Human Security Event Report Name: Moro Bukari Date of Submission: June 10 th 2011 Duty Station: Tamale Position: HSP Field Specialist Activity: Live Public Viewing of the Michael Essien Peace Match at the Tamale Sports Stadium I. Introduction Sports form a natural part of people s physical, mental and social lives. It is unquestionably the most popular leisure activity on our planet. As a result, sports have received international recognition since the early 2000s as an essential tool for peace building. In 2005 the UN General Assembly recognising the potential of sports to effectively convey messages, influence behaviour and promote peace, proclaimed the International Year of Sport and Physical Education. In May this year, the UN secretary General in an address delivered during the second edition of the international forum for sports and development reiterated UN s belief in sports as a unifier. According to him, sports have become a world language, a common denominator that breaks down all the walls, all the barriers. With over 3.5 billion fans worldwide, football (soccer) is the most popular sport on the planet. It is therefore not surprising that football stars realising the popularity of the game have over the years explored the love people have for the game to address all manner of societal challenges. In light of this, Michael Essien, the Chelsea FC/Ghanaian midfield general and Africa Union Peace Ambassador, organized a peace football match at the Accra Sports Stadium on May 25 2011 between an African select side and a world eleven to promote and raise awareness on the importance of peace in the African continent through the powerful tool of football. In line with the UN s belief in the usefulness of sports as a tool for peace building, the United Nations Joint Programme on Human Security identified the Essien Peace Match as an innovative platform for promoting the programme s peace building objective, particularly amongst the youth in Tamale and its environs. As a result, the programme with support from the UNDP and UNICEF and in collaboration with the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, media houses, Regional Sports Development Authority, other Civil Society Organizations and individuals, seized the opportunity to organize a peace advocacy event through a free for all Live TV telecast and public viewing of the Michael Essien Peace in Africa Charity Match, on the Giant Screen of the Tamale Sports Stadium. The human security concept places emphasis on the use of a holistic approach that is sensitive and tailored to the political, economic, social and cultural needs and context in efforts towards building sustained peace in communities and nations alike. The programme team therefore used the peace match as an opportunity to further diversify the approaches the programme employs in its peace building and conflict prevention efforts.
II. Objectives / Purpose of the Event: The event aimed at creating awareness on the need for peace amongst the general public, particularly the youth, in Tamale and its environs through football and music. The event particularly sought to: Create a social space for the general public especially the youth in and around the Tamale metropolis to interact with one another; Create a platform for delivering peace messages via speeches and music; Share the message of peace and development with the general public in the Northern region through radio panel discussions, piece jingles and radio announcements. III. Target Group/Attendance Although the event was meant for the general public, its main target was the youth. The choice of the youth was not only informed by the fact that they are more enthusiastic about football and sports in general but also that they form the window of hope for creating lasting peace in the area in the near future. Additionally, lessons from peace building workshops organized by the Joint Human Security Programme for traditional authorities, youth and women leaders suggests that the youth have increasingly become important power brokers in communities and play significant roles in community level decision making including peace building and conflict transformation. Targeting the youth for peace building must therefore essentially be strategic for the Human Security Programme in the three northern regions. As a result, invitations were extended to all tertiary institutions, senior and junior high schools and other educational institutions. Radio jingles and announcements were also played to invite the general public. There were also Radio panel discussion on the Human Security concept and peace prior to the match. Generally, the programme received high patronage. A total of about 4,000 people from all walks of life and age groups participated in the event at the Tamale Sports Stadium with approximately 75% being within the target group (youth). Also in attendance were key stakeholders in peace in the area including representatives from the Armed Forces, Regional Police Command, National Fire Service, Prison Service, Real Tamale United FC, former squad members of the National Team (Black Stars) amongst others. IV. Activities The event was a three day long programme. It kicked off on the 23 rd with an event jingle and announcement carrying peace messages on five out of the of six FM radio stations in the metropolis. The main event was preluded by Radio panel discussions on the 24 th in both
Dagbani and English on Peace, Unity, Development and Human Security in Dagbon, Ghana and Africa at large. The three day peace advocacy event was climaxed on the 25 th with people of all age groups trooping to the Tamale Sports Stadium to watch the Peace Match live on a Giant Screen. The event, which kicked off at 12:30 pm witnessed a combination of live football from the Ohenejan Sports stadium in Accra, live musical performances and peace messages. Mr. Aboubacar Koisha (Head of Sub Office, WFP, Tamale) delivered a peace message on behalf of the UN and local stakeholders of the UN JHSP with the Assembly persons of Changli and Choggu delivering solidarity messages on behalf of the programme communities. There were also live musical performances from music stars including Sharrif Ghalli, Mama Rams, Lil K and a host of others. Agenda for the Michael Essien Peace Match Live Viewing at the Tamale Sports Stadium Time Activity 12:30 14:00 Arrival and seating of general public and invited dignitaries 14:00 14:30 Musical performances 14:30 14:45 Introduction and acknowledgement of dignitaries and other invited guests; Watch peace message from Michael Essien Live on TV. 14:45 15:30 First half of Live Match 14:45 15:45 Speech by UN Resident Coordinator; Solidarity peace messages from representatives of Tamale programme communities; 15:45 16:30 Second half of Live Match 16:30 19:00 Peace messages and Live Music continues 17:30 18:30 Refreshment and confab with invited dignitaries A Musician Entertaining the Crowd
V. Achievements/Outputs The peace advocacy event brought together about 4,000 residents of all age groups within and around the Tamale metropolis to interact with one another; The event also brought together some key stakeholders of human security in the metropolis, including representatives from the security agencies, Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, Ghana Education Service and the National Sports Council; Additionally, residents in and around the Tamale metropolis were sensitised on the need for peace in Dagbon through the radio panel discussions that preceded the peace match; The event also increased awareness on the Human Security Programme amongst residents of the metropolis; VI. Key Lessons Learnt The three day advocacy events brought to the fore some important issues that can contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the Joint Human Security Programme. Notable amongst the key lessons learned included: Close collaboration between participating UN Agencies implementing the programme as well as amongst members of the programme produce results more effectively; Sports and music stars enjoy high social leverage amongst the youth. The programme can therefore use such people to mobilise the youth for peace building and conflict prevention in programme sites; Sporting activities can make an excellent entry point for engaging the youths in the four programme sites on peace advocacy and conflict prevention; Musical shows create an excellent way for bringing the youth together for creating awareness on the need for peace; Many organisations/institution/agencies, media houses and individuals are willing and able to contribute to peace building and conflict prevention in the Tamale Metropolis.
VII. Proposed Sustainability Measures/Recommendations Our interactions with a cross section of the participants and the key stakeholders who turned up revealed that the programme made a huge impact. It was their general opinion that it is important for the process to be continued. In their view, similar events should be organised occasionally with high involvement of project communities in order to continue to remind the youth on the need for peace and to reinforce the need for the communities to mobilize themselves around the spirit of cohesion and peaceful coexistence. Some of the activities suggested for future engagements included organising: sports activities among members of programme communities; A peace football match between former and current players of the Black Stars in Tamale; Sports activities between programme communities and security agencies in the programme sites; Sports festivals among the programme sites; Individual Sports icons and Musicians as Peace Advocates;