In February 2014 the best Crimean athletes and coaches of 2013 were honoured at one of the most important sport events in Crimea: the annual Ball of Champions. The project "Young Football Volunteers: Sport and Volunteering for the MDGs", implemented by the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), was recognized as "the best public organization to promote healthy lifestyles in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (ARC) in 2013".
In February 2014 the best Crimean athletes and coaches of 2013 were honoured at one of the most important sport events in Crimea: the annual Ball of Champions. The project Young Football Volunteers: Sport and Volunteering for the MDGs, implemented by the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), was recognized as the best public organization to promote healthy lifestyles in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (ARC) in 2013.
The Ball of Champions was held by the Ministry of Education and Science, Youth and Sports of Crimea, with the support of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine in Crimea.
During the Ball of Champions, Crimean coaches and athletes, members of national sport teams of Ukraine, winners, participants and nominees for participation of the Olympic, Paralympic, World and European Championships were granted awards under different categories.
The athletes were addressed by the Minister of Education and Science, Youth and Sports of the ARC, Natalia Goncharova, by the Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in Crimea, Viktor Plakida, by members of the Parliament of Crimea, by the president of the National Olympic Committee, and by a number of heads of sport's federations.
This award is a big honour for us, since it symbolizes the contribution of volunteers to the promotion of healthy lifestyles and the civic engagement of rural youth, and strengthens sustainable development in Ukraine, explains Davron Mirsagatov, UN Volunteer Coordinator of the Young Football Volunteers project. It would hardly be possible to reach such results without the support of the Ministry of Education and Science, Youth and Sports, so it is our joint achievement, he believes.
The project Young Football Volunteers: Sport and Volunteering for the MDGs was launched in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, in the oblasts of Kherson and Mykolayiv, in May 2012, and will continue till the end of 2014.
The overall objective of the project is to contribute to the achievement of the MDGs by leveraging sport as an enabler to promote social cohesion, strengthen civil society and improve the physical and social health of youth.