COCA-COLA ALMATY BOTTLERS and EFCA contribute to the involvement of rural youth in mass sports

Coca-Cola Almaty Bottlers and the Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia, together with Akimat of the Arshaly region of Akmola oblast, are launching a joint project called "3, 2, 1 - START" aimed at solving the infrastructural problems of rural schools in the field of sports/exercise and introducing innovative teaching methods in the field of playing sports in schools.

Project Background

Before launching the project, Coca-Cola Almaty Bottlers initiated a study to assess the status of healthy and active lifestyles among rural youth in Almaty and Akmola regions. The results of the research revealed a number of circumstances that hamper the wide popularity of sports among children: lack of sports clubs, inventory, funds for trips to regional or regional competitions, etc. hinder the development of sports/exercise throughout the country, and, as a result, lead to the low involvement of children in sports and lack of interest in leading a healthy lifestyle.

Based on the results of this study, the organizers decided to launch the pilot "3,2,1 Start" project in the Arshaly region of the Akmola Oblast. According to the project conditions, a competition will be organized among the teachers of physical culture of 28 secondary schools in the region in order to develop initiatives to involve children of different ages in recreational and sports activities. The best ideas will be implemented by the donor of the project.

About the project:

Goal: increase the level of satisfaction and motivation among rural children and adolescents in exercising and leading a healthy lifestyle.

Objectives of the project:

Improve the quality of school and leisure services in the field of sports.

Increase the involvement of local people in the development of sports and exercise in the village.

Social importance of the project:

Alima Isembaeva, Corporate Affairs Director of Coca-Cola Almaty Bottlers (CCAB): "One of the key goals identified by President Nursultan Nazarbayev was to raise the level of involvement of the population in sports/exercise and healthy lifestyles to 30% by 2050. In his message, the head of state noted the special importance of healthy lifestyles and stressed the shortage of sports facilities, sports equipment, and equipment available to Kazakhstani citizens. As a socially responsible company, we consider it necessary to promote the development of healthy recreation in every possible way at the regional level, since rural regions are in much greater need of providing material and technical equipment for sports in district schools. We need to create conditions such that children themselves want to go exercise, go to sports clubs, and not have nothing to do all day. In this pilot project, we see the foundation for the subsequent phased involvement of children in healthy recreation in all regions of the country, and we are going to support this initiative."

Rinad Temirbekov, Executive Director of EFCA (Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia): "Our fund has already implemented a number of youth and educational projects —  this is a separate area of the fund's activities, which is why we realize the urgency and significance of creating a healthy and active generation of Kazakhstanis. "3, 2, 1 - Start" sets for itself a number of significant tasks: creating favorable conditions for children's sports, and improving the skills of rural physical education teachers, for whom a number of trainings will be held. We want not only to improve the conditions for healthy recreation, but also to introduce innovative methods of education, train teachers, equip them with the arsenal of necessary knowledge, and raise their status. If teachers are imbued with this project, they will create the most effective conditions for their students. "

The organizers of the project separately note local executive authorities, teachers and volunteers’ great interest in it.

A contender for the role of project coordinator, a volunteer says, "children in rural areas have fewer opportunities for useful recreation than in the city, and exercise/sports can become an important component of their life."

The first steps of the project: project management training for physical education teachers

On April 1, 2015, the presentation of the project was held for teachers of physical education and principals of local schools. After the solemn opening of the project, with the participation of the Akim of the Arshaly district, Zhomart Zhumagaliyevich Nurkenov, a training on project management and fundraising principles was conducted for physical education teachers. The purpose of this training was to teach the skills of creating projects, writing applications, searching for donors, and further implementing these ideas. After the training, a competition was announced for the most innovative projects in the field of sports and exercise. Together with the teachers of physical education, the following criteria were determined for the evaluation of competitive applications:

Coaching experience of the applicant (20%);

The ratio of expected results to planned expenditures (20%);

Parental involvement in project implementation, including but not limited to parental committee representatives (10%);

Use of innovative methods of teaching, including non-standard solutions (20%);

Cooperativeness of the applicant and willingness to respond flexibly to the recommendations of EFCA (10%);

Introduction of new sports (preference will be given to women's sports) (10%); and

Own contribution to the project (or the contribution of the attracted partner) (10%).

According to the results of the contest, the most innovative projects will receive financing. In the fall of 2015, the Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia, in conjunction with Coca-Cola Almaty Bottlers, plans to hold a large-scale festival in which all project participants will be able to demonstrate the results of their projects to the general public.

Tatyana Nemtsan, principal of the Vyacheslav School in the village of Arnasai, says: "The training went very well, since the group of 70 listeners basically did not have much knowledge on the issues of project modeling or about working with local communities to carry out projects. The participants of the training were particularly interested in issues related to the design of project logistics, the organization of work on project promotion, the involvement of social partners and administrative structures. As for the organizers of the training - the representatives of the Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia were able to make the training full of information, practical, and useful. We hope that participation in this project will help us improve the quality of sports in the area of school services, and increase the interest in rural youth in sports.

Contacts:

Project Manager: Andrey Bachishche, EFCA Project Specialist, tel .: +7 (727) 250 18 10, ext. 105, mob .: +7 777 525 74 63, mail: andrey@ef-ca.org

Representative of the donor: Moldir Saparova, Project Specialist, tel .: +7 (727) 250 93 19, mail: moldir.saparova@cci.com.kz