UNICEF and the Hellenic Basketball Federation join forces to defend the rights of every child in Greece
The two organizations committed to jointly defend the rights and ensure the well-being of every child in the country as well as strengthen youth participation in sports through a series of collective actions and initiatives.
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ATHENS, 1 SEPTEMBER 2022 - The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Greece and the Hellenic Basketball Federation (HBF), officially announced the launch of their collaborations by signing a Memorandum of Understanding at the Organization's offices in Athens. The Memorandum aims to enhance the participation of children and youth in sports, as well as to raise public awareness on children's rights in Greece and to design joint initiatives for the implementation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, UNICEF and HBF committed to develop a series of actions to ensure that all children in the country, including the most vulnerable, benefit from quality services that ensure their protection, well-being and social inclusion, as well as to promote health, fair play and the elimination of all forms of discrimination.
"It is a great honour and pleasure for our Office here in Greece to start this collaborations with the Hellenic Basketball Federation. The Federation is a timeless symbol of unity and pride for every Greek. It plays a great role in nurturing and guiding children and young people in sports, with fair play and healthy competition as a beacon. This makes it with no doubt one of our most important allies in the fight to defend the rights of every child in the country," said UNICEF’s Representative in Greece, Mr. Luciano Calestini.
The President of the Hellenic Basketball Federation, Mr. Evangelos Liolios said:
"I think this is a very important moment for the Hellenic Basketball Federation. Signing this Memorandum of Understanding, gives us the opportunity to build a very promising collaboration between a major sports organization in Greece, like the Federation, with a huge global organization such as UNICEF. We have a lot of actions in the pipeline for the coming years, putting children always at the centre of everything we’ll be doing.”
The signing ceremony was also well attended by Konstantinos Svergounos, General Manager of the Hellenic Basketball Federation, Demos Ntikoudes, Head of the Men's National Teams and Anni Konstantinidou, Head of the Women's National Teams as well as representatives from UNICEF Greece Partnerships, Communication and Programmes department.
The first joint activation between the two organizations took place on 9 August during the friendly game between the Greek and the Spanish National Teams at the "Nikos Galis" Olympic Indoor Hall, where UNICEF and the Hellenic Basketball Federation honoured Goal 16 "Peace and Strong Institutions" of the UN's Global Sustainable Development Goals. During the event, the Federation’s President, Mr. Evangelos Liolios, along with the President of the Spanish Basketball Federation Mr. Garbajosa, and the players of the National Team, A. Antetokounmpo and D. Moraitis, welcomed on the court children from Ukraine who are temporarily hosted in our country, sending to everyone the message "Basketball has the power to change the world".
The Memorandum is the first step in a joint path between the two institutions, which are looking forward to the immediate expansion of their cooperation both within and outside Greece, with the aim to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda.
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About UNICEF
UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere.
For more information about UNICEF and its work for children in Greece, visit www.unicef.org/greece.
