CB Bureau While Indian corporate groups are busy
strategizing their corporate social responsibility (CSR) agendas as per the
mandatory guidelines, top sports bodies have already started to present
themselves as socially responsible organizations.
The most recent attempt is by International
Cricket Council (ICC), who have partnered the Joint United Nations Programme on
HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to give a boost
to Think Wise, the global cricket awareness partnership managed together with Room
to Read. The two UN organizations will be joined for this tournament by ICC’s new
CSR partner Wash United, the initiative responsible for promoting good hygiene
across Bangladesh.
The announcement comes just a week before
the start of ICC World Twenty20 Bangladesh 2014. During the tournament, the ICC
will work with the three partners in hosting a variety of coaching clinics and
visits involving players from many of the participating teams, while also
highlighting each of the initiatives at various match days throughout the
event. The idea is to encourage young cricket fans to protect themselves from
HIV and combat stigma.
Think Wise and Room to Read are the ICC’s
global charity partners. Last year, the ICC celebrated its decade-long
association with UNAIDS to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS. The Think Wise partnership
with UNAIDS, UNICEF and the ICC, meanwhile, began in 2009.
Wash United will be the exclusive charity
partner for the women’s draw of the tournament and also the ICC’s charity
partner for the School Contact Programme.
‘I am delighted that once again we are
promoting the importance of HIV and AIDS awareness and the education of
children around the globe. We are also happy to work for the first time with Wash
United in a bid to raise awareness about the importance of personal hygiene to
good health. The men’s tournament will be used to promote the message about the
benefits of hand-washing with soap and the women’s tournament about the need
for menstrual hygiene. Together, ICC and Wash United will be able to reach
millions of cricket fans with these life-saving hygiene messages,’ said ICC
Chief Executive David Richardson.
Think Wise is expected to reach millions of
young people and their families through the tournament and raise awareness on
HIV prevention, treatment, care and support programmes led by UNAIDS and UNICEF
in partnership with governments and other organizations on the ground.
Room to Read is a global non-profit
organisation working to promote literacy and gender equality in education
across Asia and Africa, while Wash United is an international social impact
organization that harnesses the power of sports, games, fun and positive
communication to promote sanitation and good hygiene in Sub-Saharan Africa and
South Asia.