World Youth Forum: A Reflection on Social Development and Football

Johannesburg, South Africa-

Football can change the world. This may sound a bit optimistic to some, but for the sixty-four young leaders involved in the World Youth Forum at Queens High School, Johannesburg on Wednesday, this is an overriding theme that keeps them going everyday.

The World Youth Forum, one of the opening events at FIFA's Football For Hope Festival, included two players from each of the thirty-two teams at the festival. With stated goals of uncovering inspirational stories from the festival participants and encouraging a discussion on what “Football for Hope” meant to each of them, the Youth Forum was a remarkable way to signal the beginning of the Football for Hope Festival.

Kicked off with inspirational words from Meghan Mahoney and David Czesniuk, from Northeastern University's Center for Sport in Society, and Jon McCullough, a former member of the United States Paralympic Soccer team, the participants kept the ball rolling with their own inspirational stories of what football means to them.

The first young leader to address the Forum was eighteen year old Katlego, from the organization Play Soccer and a resident of Alexandra, the venue for the festival. Katlego spoke of his pride of showing off his hometown to the rest of the world, but also of the way that football has given him the hope that he can achieve his dreams. He had never dreamed of meeting and making friends with young people from around the world, yet he had already done that after just one day in the athlete's village.

After the opening session, workshops broke the participants into smaller groups which encouraged the participants to discuss how football related to the leadership, conflict resolution, health, hope and inclusion. During these workshops, the consistent theme through each young person's lives what that football can and has made a difference in their lives.

During the closing session, a young woman from the UK's Dads against Drugs proclaimed the greatest lesson she has learned from football is that “the greatest team is not necessarily the best, but it's the team that makes the greatest community impact.” Others talked about how football has taught them to be resilient in life and to keep on going, while another participant from Magic Bus India talked about how the Festival has already made an impact on her life by letting her see that so many others go through the same problems that she does and she is not alone.

Sporting a jersey of the Paraguayan superstar Salvador Cabanas, who was tragically shot and unable to participate in this year's World Cup, a young woman poignantly proclaimed that she was “at the Festival for everybody that couldn't be in South Africa with us.” With that being said, facilitator Jon McCullough urged the participants to continue being role models in their community and turn their words into actions upon their return.

With the kickoff of the Football for Hope festival being just a few days away, it is clear that all thirty-two teams cannot hide their excitement and anticipation anymore. Yet, the Football for Hope Festival is not just about playing football, it's about much more. It's about the discussion that went on inside the Forum today, inspiring today's youth to go home and continue using football as a positive vehicle of change. From the looks of things, each delegation is in good hands moving forward.