ISA’s Development Week in Uganda was a pivotal gathering, bringing together representatives from East Africa, West Africa, the Middle East & North Africa, and Europe. This essential event focused on advancing our decentralisation efforts, sharing strategies, and shaping the path forward for ISA’s mission of youth empowerment through sport.
In an exciting stride towards global cooperation and local action, the International Sports Alliance (ISA) has proudly launched the ISA Global Alliance. This strategic evolution represents a significant shift towards decentralization, emphasizing the empowerment of regional autonomy while maintaining a cohesive global framework.
The ISA Global Alliance emerges as a beacon of integration, where diverse regions including East Africa, MENA, West Africa, and Europe converge to share insights, collaborate on challenges, and collectively advance the mission of empowering youth through sports. This new structure allows each region to harness local strengths and resources, while also benefiting from the shared knowledge and network that ISA fosters globally.
Key to the ISA Global Alliance is the concept of localisation — a strategy that ensures programs are culturally relevant, sustainable, and directly responsive to the local communities’ needs. By empowering regional offices to lead their initiatives, ISA is placing trust in local expertise and promoting a model where decision-making is as close as possible to the field of impact. This approach not only enhances program effectiveness but also fosters a sense of ownership and commitment among local teams.
Through the Global Alliance, ISA aims to tackle the unique challenges faced by each region by providing tailored support that aligns with specific local needs. For instance, the programs in East Africa might focus on community cohesion through sports, while Europe may tackle youth engagement and leadership. Regardless of the regional focus, the underlying thread of promoting gender equality, social inclusion, and youth empowerment remains strong.
Fundraising emerged as a crucial topic, as regions shared their approaches to securing partnerships and resources. Europe’s focus on structured partner mapping complemented East Africa’s community-driven strategies, showing the diverse ways regions can sustain impact. The week also included a key workshop on youth employability, underscoring how sports can build life skills essential for young people’s futures.
The transition to this global yet localized approach was influenced by extensive discussions and feedback from all levels within ISA. It reflects a dynamic response to the evolving landscape of international development, where the importance of being globally informed and locally rooted is more pronounced than ever.
As ISA continues to unfold the chapters of the Global Alliance, the commitment to creating a more inclusive, equitable, and empowered world through sports stands firm. We invite all our supporters, partners, and communities to join us in this exciting new phase of our journey, where every region’s voice is heard, and every young person’s potential is nurtured.
Stay tuned on our platforms for more updates on how ISA Global Alliance is making a difference in the lives of youth around the world and how you can be a part of this transformative movement.