American actor and Unicef Goodwill Ambassador Danny Glover inaugurated the “Golombiao” soccer tournament for peace Tuesday, imploring the young players to become actors for change.
Glover greeted 220 children from all over Colombia who are competing in the Unicef-organized event, titled “Golombiao: Game of Peace”. It aims to harness the power of sport to teach self-respect and non-aggression.
The American actor, who has been a Unicef Goodwill Ambassador since 2004, told the kids, “You are the agents of change. You will be the change that has to do with your families, and we look forward to seeing the beautiful relationships that you are going to create here in this game of peace.
“These relationships will be long-lasting. Not just for these days, but for a lifetime,” said Glover at the inauguration of the soccer tournament, which is taking place in Medellin, in the northwest Colombian department of Antioquia.
During the ceremony, Glover emphasized his gratitude at being involved in the event, which uses soccer as a mechanism to develop projects for vulnerable communities. The children have collaboratively created their own game rules during workshops based on themes of peaceful conflict resolution and co-existence, gender equality, and social and civic participation.
“Golombiao is an opportunity to engage not only in a beautiful sport, but a game that helps shape community, build respect for women, a game that allows us to remake and reimagine ourselves as ambassadors of peace,” said the actor.
