The chief executive of a Shropshire-based organisation dedicated to changing the lives of young people has been mixing with some big international names following an invitation from UNESCO.
Joe Lockley, one of the founders of Brightstar in Shifnal, received a VIP invitation to be a guest speaker on the panel discussion at the Change the Game conference at UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris – a top level global event held over two days.
The invitation came from Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director General for Social and Human Sciences at UNESCO, who recognised the positive impact Brightstar is having on young lives. Brightstar is committed to empowering young vulnerable people towards a brighter future through a strong combination of boxing, education and mentoring.
In her invitation to Mr Lockley, Ms Ramos said: “We commend your efforts to transform the lives of young people from all backgrounds through sport and education and to create a platform for building sustainable, resilient and equal communities.
“I am delighted to invite you to intervene in the panel discussion ‘Investing in people’ at the Change the Game sport conference. Your experience and knowledge will bring great value to the discussion.”
Mr Lockley, a former amateur boxer, was part of a panel discussion on the Social Impact of Sport – exploring how to leverage sport’s social impact across all sectors, showcasing good practices in measurement, communication and scaled investment.
Other members of the panel included Aleksander Ceferin, the President of UEFA, Patricia Scotland, Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations, and Marja Ruotanen, Director General of Democracy and Human Dignity, Council of Europe.
Mr Lockley said: “I was amazed to receive the invite to attend the UNESCO conference in Paris and was delighted to take part. The two-day conference was structured around a Partners’ Forum – which was why I was there – and a Ministerial Forum.
“The Partners’ Forum explored the social return on investment in sports policies and programmes, particularly in areas identified in the UNESCO Report on the Social Impact of Sports. The various panels focused on opportunities for investment in people – youth, athletes, coaches – and in infrastructure and support network systems.
“The panel discussion I was involved with was part of a session that began with the launching of the Social Impact of Sport Report, where key findings were presented.
“This report aims to clarify what is meant by social impact, including both the tangible and intangible benefits associated with investing in sport, while highlighting the importance of measuring and communicating this impact.
“Our Investing in People panel discussion followed and there were a wide range of views put forward that were both interesting and thought-provoking – there was certainly a lot that I was able to take away from the discussion. “It was quite a pivotal moment for Brightstar to be recognised in this way and I was proud to be a part of such a meaningful discussion, showing that there are many individuals and organisations out there all working towards the same goals as ourselves.”
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