The Power of Sport to Inspire, Include and Impact

For over three decades, the Youth Charter has championed the role of sport, art, culture and digital engagement as powerful tools for youth and community development. Our mission has remained clear: to harness the universal language of sport to inspire young people, promote peace, and build safer, healthier and more equitable societies.

The recent Athletes 365 Summit affirmed what we at the Youth Charter have long known in that athletes are not only competitors but also leaders, role models and changemakers. As the world faces intersecting challenges from conflict and inequality to climate change and youth disillusionment, the need to engage and empower young people through Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) has never been more urgent.

The Youth Charter’s Community Campus Model, grounded in the lived experiences of young people across the globe from Manchester to Johannesburg, London to Anguilla provides a practical framework for delivering the legacy impact of sport at the grassroots level. By aligning our work with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the IOC/UN Accord, and the Olympism365 strategy, we aim to ensure that sport serves not only the few but the many.

We welcome the renewed commitment of athletes at the global level to uphold the values of inclusion, respect, dignity and opportunity. Their voices are essential in ensuring that sport remains a force for peace and social progress, not just podiums and performance.

Now is the time to invest in the next generation. Now is the time to ensure that every young person, regardless of background or geography, has access to safe spaces, inspiring mentors, and the transformational power of sport.

Together, we can create a world where every young person has the opportunity to play, to learn, to lead and to thrive.