On their agenda is the inauguration of a multimedia classroom – The Salywood Studio, where students from Diambars will be able to develop their communication skills and knowledge of information technologies as well as learning how to use a whole variety of multimedia tools.
In addition, the football heroes will launch two new projects: the creation of a second Diambars Football Academy in South Africa, and the online competition “Keep the Ball Moving,” aimed at youngsters from all over the world.
“Bernard, Jimmy and I laid the first stone of the Diambars Football Academy in Saly exactly four years ago,” Patrick Vieira said. “Now we are going back to celebrate with our students and partners the enormous progress this project has made,” he said.
Officials from UNESCO are also expected to attend this event. Both UNESCO and FIFA have established partnership agreements with Diambars, aimed at providing financial and technical support to the development of “Keep the Ball Moving,” which combines education, multimedia and football.
A press conference will be held at the Diambars Football Academy in Saly, Senegal on the 17th of June, 2007 at 10 AM.
Diambars is a non-governmental organisation, founded by Patrick Vieira, Bernard Lama, Saer Seck and Jimmy Adjovi-Boco in 2003. Several other football heroes have given their support to the NGO, including Alliou Cissé, Ferdinand Coly, Marcel Desailly, William Gallas, Thierry Henry, Claude Makelele, Robert Pirès, Mickael Sylvestre, Lilian Thuram and Zinedine Zidane.
"Giving back to football what it has given us," was the idea behind the dream and the creation of Diambars. The pilot project in Senegal was developed to help underprivileged children between the ages of 13 and 18, all of whom have a talent for playing football. Over a period of five years, the Diambars Academy provides them with housing, education and training. The goal is to help children build up their physical capacities, acquire schooling in different disciplines and develop new skills.
“Beyond the purely sporting dimension, we encourage the overall development of the students from Diambars by providing them with athletic, academic and professional training”, says Bernard Lama.
A second Diambars Football Academy should be operational in South Africa by 2010, before the next FIFA World Cup kicks off. “Our goal has always been to expand the Diambars Football Academy across the globe and we decided South Africa would be our next step,” says Patrick Vieira. “We want to build on the momentum behind the World Cup to promote the idea that football can be a great instrument to advance education and promote social and human development,” he added.
Adidas, Cadbury and Air France are the main sponsors of DIAMBARS today, and they will be part of the project in South Africa. Soccerex, the world soccer convention, has been instrumental in the establishment of contacts with South African authorities and the football industry.
