Ananya Kamboj
You can follow Ananya’s work at Sports To Lead and also follow her personally on LinkedIn and Twitter.
I am Ananya Kamboj from India, a global citizen, and a 16-year-old girl from a humble background with myriad dreams twinkling in my eyes. I am studying in Grade 11 at Vivek High School, Chandigarh. I happen to be an ambassador of football (soccer), peace, SDGs, and women empowerment. I wish to take the spirit of hope, togetherness, and inspiration to millions of children across India and South Asia and make this world a better place to live.
I have been playing football and basketball in my school and club teams since childhood. During my training sessions, I noticed how some sports coaches had been promoting the notion that girls can’t play sports. I was very offended when the coaches used phrases like ‘you are a girl’, ‘you are playing like a girl,’ and those kinds of statements. I thought I need to demolish these differences between men and women.
This made me launch Sports to Lead, an initiative to help girls and women understand their rights and overcome gender inequality. This initiative uses sports as a medium and includes workshops and awareness sessions on how to fight discrimination, gender inequality, and advocate for reduced inequalities.
For the last three years, I have been selected to represent India as a Young Journalist at the global Football for Friendship (F4F) social program. Football for Friendship is an annual International children's social program that unites children of different nationalities, different genders, and different physical abilities. The goal of the project is the development of children’s football, fostering tolerance, and respect for different cultures and nationalities among children from different countries. The key values that the participants support and promote are friendship, equality, fairness, health, peace, devotion, victory, traditions, and honor.
In 2018, I was invited to Moscow as a special guest at the world premiere of my book ‘My Journey from Mohali to St. Petersburg’, an anthology of twenty-one stories. These stories are based on the fundamental human values that I have learned during the Football for Friendship program. It is a wonderful platform to celebrate friendship through the unifying power of football. The book was officially released by Viktor Zubkov, Chairman of the Gazprom Board of Directors as part of the 6th season of the Football for Friendship (F4F) international children’s social program organized by Gazprom, an official partner of FIFA and the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia. I was awarded the Best Young Journalist award for my effort in spreading the values of the programs through this book.
When most people talk about a school curriculum, they think about math, science, social studies, and language courses. Seldom do I hear or read about sports as being part of the curriculum. The problem is that the neglect of teaching sports in schools is hurting our youth and causing problems in society. If a person has never learned any sport, how is she or he able to discern the difference between victory and defeat? That is basically the essence of sports education. The book presents a holistic picture of the good life, which transcends the prevalent narrow understanding of what constitutes success, fulfillment, and happiness in life. It offers a fresh interpretation of sports through human values which collectively enrich the different dimensions of life. A harmonious realization of all these values helps us grow as truly and fully human persons. The book should appeal to all those who are concerned about questions like how to be a good person, how to live a good life, and how to help create a good society.
I believe that education, sports and childhood character development do go hand-in-hand.
I was invited twice by the United Nations ECOSOC Youth Forum to share my views on Football for Friendship. I also became a Goodwill Ambassador of BRICS countries and participated in various other projects, including Girl Up, Girls with Impact, Lean In India, SDG Choupal, SDGs For Children, World Literacy Foundation, and She's Mercedes. I am actively working to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and particular advocating for gender equality, quality education, and reduced inequalities.
My focus is on empowering women and building community consensus on key gender issues such as reproductive health, property rights for women, HIV/AIDS, violence against women, and the rights of women in the decision-making processes of the community. The activities were designed to include adult men, women as well as teenagers. The project emphasizes sports leadership training, life skills development, and team building. It helps participants imbibe key ideas with regards to self-development, self-esteem, physical agility, and healthy lifestyles in girls. By using sports as a starting point for female empowerment, I intend to make it a reality for girls, to fully encourage them and empower them with the grit needed to participate in any sphere of life they choose.
Through Sports to Lead, I have an opportunity to put these ideas into action for the realization of gender equality and women’s empowerment - both in sports itself and in the wider world. Sports can be one of the great drivers of gender equality, by teaching women and girls the values of teamwork, self-reliance, and resilience. It can provide girls with social connections and a refuge from violence in their homes and communities, and help them to understand their bodies, and also build confidence and the ability to speak up, particularly during adolescence, when the pressure to conform to traditionally “feminine” stereotypes leads many girls to abandon education and sports entirely.
Clearly, guaranteeing girls the same level of education as boys can help to make an impact in the world for the better, and Sports to Lead is one such initiative that gives girls the same level of education as their male peers.
As part of our mission, around 8000 girls and boys have benefited from the movement.
I am changing the world.
I am #LivingForChange because I am actively working to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and particularly advocating for gender equality, quality education, and reduced inequalities. I wish to take the spirit of hope, togetherness, and inspiration to millions of children across India and South Asia and make this world a better place to live."