“Deporte que Transforma” documentary highlights collaboration between Scotiabank and FC Barcelona Foundation

This Friday, Mexico City played host to the release of a documentary titled “Deporte que Transforma” (Sport that’s Transformational), which highlights the projects which Scotiabank and the FC Barcelona Foundation carry out together in several Latin American countries. The aim of these projects is to use sport to improve the lives of children and young people living in areas of huge social and economic vulnerability.

The documentary’s presentation ceremony was attended by former FC Barcelona player and Legend, Javier Saviola, Scotiabank representatives and the Director General of the Barça Foundation, Dr. Marta Segú. 

Saviola is currently visiting one of two new projects that both organisations are implementing in Mexico, specifically the one being run in Morelos alongside the Don Bosco Foundation. The other project is being carried out in Guadalajara in collaboration with the Fútbol con Corazón (FCC) organisation which, over the coming days, will be visited by Club de Fútbol Monterrey Femenil player Pamela Tajonar, who has extensive experience in the Spanish women’s football league and spent two seasons at FC Barcelona.

Scotiabank and the Barça Foundation began collaborating in 2016 and since then have rolled out projects in Mexico, Peru, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia and El Salvador.

Through visually striking and emotion-stirring imagery, the documentary tells the story of the work both organisations have carried out over the course of last season in Mexico, Chile and Peru. In these countries the Barça Foundation, in cooperation with Scotiabank, designs specific programs in areas of high social and economic vulnerability alongside the local organisations which best understand each area’s particular problems.

'Sport that Transforms' is available on the Barça One streaming platform and on the Barça Foundation's YouTube channel.

In the case of Mexico, over the past three seasons the Barça Foundation and Scotiabank have been working in the municipality of Calakmul, in the state of Campeche. This initiative, implemented by community organisation Fondo para la Paz, has benefitted more than 660 disadvantaged children in the municipality. The predominantly indigenous rural communities involved live in remote areas and in poverty, with serious shortages in basic needs such as access to drinking water, sanitation services and a balanced diet.

In Chile, the “Alunmapu” project, which is managed by the NGO Paicabí, uses sport as a tool to combat any form of violence against children and adolescents, and can point to nearly 500 participating children in the communities of Viña del Mar and Limache (Valparaíso).

Lastly, in Iquitos (Peru), the FC Barcelona Foundation and Scotiabank run, alongside World Vision Peru, an educational inclusion project for children and young people, which benefits over 3,000 participants in a region with very high poverty rates.

The partnership between the two organisations is also informed by the SportNet socio-educational methodology, created by the Barça Foundation. By means of sport and collaborative games, SportNet encourages values and social skills such as teamwork, cooperation, empathy, dialogue and conflict resolution. These sessions are carried out in safe spaces, for children and young people who live in situations impacted by poverty, vulnerability and violence.

Comprehensive Development Support Program for children and adolescents in Morelos

The goal of this project is to contribute to the all-round development of 150 primary- and secondary-school students, by means of activities which use the SportNet methodology to promote mental and physical health.
These activities are held at the Don Bosco School in Cuernavaca and the Don Bosco School in Emiliano Zapata, in conjunction with the Don Bosco Foundation.

This is a comprehensive support program that uses sporting activities like football, volleyball or basketball, to boost children and adolescents’ all-round development through promoting community integration, life skills and social values. In addition, the program strives to improve participants’ awareness of their physical and socio-emotional health.

In order to ensure students’ continued involvement in the program, socio-sporting grants are provided to those in greatest financial need, which help cover school, sport and transport expenses. Tutoring is also provided to students in academic difficulty, to prevent school dropout and strengthen their self-esteem. At the same time, schooling is provided for parents, where the subjects tackled include physical and emotional health, violence prevention and a peaceful culture. Also organised are family sessions, which aim to help resolve conflict and prevent violence.

“Transformative Football School - Lomas de la Primavera base”

This project’s aim is to help 150 children, adolescents and young people to develop skills and healthy habits, using sport as a tool for social transformation. It is being carried out at Lomas de la Primavera, Guadalajara, a community affected by high rates of inequality and difficulties accessing basic services, as well as a lack of sporting facilities and safe environments.

On one side, these issues are addressed through access to sport and skills development, in order to reduce school absenteeism and encourage personal and social growth. On the other, gender equality and female empowerment are fostered by promoting female participation in sporting activities, as well as in leadership roles within the project. Lastly, healthy habits are being promoted through workshops for young people and their families, designed to raise awareness about diet, oral hygiene and emotional wellbeing.

The project is based around a combination of two recognised methodologies (the FC Barcelona Foundation’s SportNet and the Fútbol Con Corazón Methodology), which promote values such as respect, inclusion and teamwork, which in turn enable participants to bolster their all-round development.