Argentina, IDB, and Key Partners Improve Lives of Youth through Sports

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has joined forces with Colgate, Meta, and NEC, as well as with Club Atletico Boca Juniors and Club Atletico River Plate Foundations of Argentina, to improve the lives of Argentinian youth through sports and educational activities. Specifically, this partnership seeks to benefit more than 450 children and youth ages 9-14 by strengthening their social skills through sports and digital solutions that improve their cognitive abilities.

The initiative will reach children and youth living in two low-income neighborhoods of the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Region, including Barrio Mujica in the City of Buenos Aires, also known as Barrio 31, and Barrio La Cava in the Province of Buenos Aires. There, the IDB has joined forces with the respective governments to implement these comprehensive socio-economic integration projects. While the sports component focuses on fostering the social skills of participants, the initiative’s educational component strives to enhance their intellectual capabilities using hardware (tablets) and software (educational modules on robotics, critical thinking, digital skills, etc.). 

The project, which is made possible by $125,000 in corporate partner contributions as well as expertise and in-kind support from the initiative’s athletic partners, will span 24 months. It is being implemented by Fundación SES in coordination with the governments of the City of Buenos Aires and the Province of Buenos Aires.

The initiative builds on the IDB’s Sports for Development portfolio and its robust track record of leveraging sports to engage children and youth.