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Peace through football
29 Jul 2011
Young people from across Newham took part in a football tournament as part of Peace One Day, the campaign for a global day of peace.
The tournament, organised by Community Links and held at Newham Leisure Centre, involved 5 teams and over 50 young people from across the borough. All the players were presented with specially-designed t-shirts; their colours selected to be different from those associated with gangs in Newham.
The tournament helps break down the divides young people experience between different areas in the borough. With funding from the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership, it helps bring young people together, tackling antisocial behaviour and preventing violence.
Organiser Philip Bryce-Lemon said: “There are well-known divisions between postcodes in Newham, but by bringing young people together to play football, under the banner of Peace One Day, we can start to break these down.”
Many more Peace One Day events are planned in the borough in the lead up to 21st September 2012, which is targeted as being a global day of truce. The campaign is being launched at a concert in the O2 on 21st September this year.
Peace One Day promotes peace and non-violence across the world, in war zones but also in communities like Newham. Its founder, Jeremy Gilley, spoke to a group of young people in Newham in June, inspiring this week’s tournament and a series of other events taking place over the next few months.