31/12/2025
The Grassroots Connected for Sport (GCS) Project implemented by the Nonviolent Network of Africa Peace Builders is a community-based peacebuilding initiative that leverages sport as a tool for PVE, social cohesion, inclusion, and youth-led change in Kaduna State, Nigeria. The project was implemented over a six-month period with
support from Peace Direct. The project engaged 20 young people aged 15–30 years (50% male and 50% female) drawn from 10 communities across 3 Local Government Areas (Chikun, Kaduna North, and Kaduna South).The participants represented diverse ethnic, religious, and social backgrounds, reflecting the project’s commitment to inclusion and equity.
Within the six-month project lifecycle, Nonviolent Network of Africa Peace Builders facilitated a three-day peace education and leadership training workshop, complemented by four weeks of intensive sport-based peacebuilding engagements. A key component of the sport-based engagements was an inclusive sport season with Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), specifically members of the hearing-impaired community, which intentionally promoted disability inclusion, empathy, and equal participation in peacebuilding spaces.
Key outputs included the facilitation of five community dialogues, organization of five sports-for-peace events,
the launch of two Sport for Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) and Peace Clubs in secondary schools, and the initiation of three youth-led initiatives.
