In 1993 Johann Koss, an Olympic gold medalist speed skater from Norway, visited the country of Eritrea and was profoundly moved by the plight of children who lived there. A year later, after winning three gold medals in the 1994 Lillehammer Olympic Games, Johann donated his prize money to the Olympic Aid organization—a sport-oriented fundraising initiative conceived by the Lillehammer Olympic Organizing Committee to aid millions of children in impoverished countries. He challenged other athletes to do the same, and raised an unprecedented $18 million. After working on behalf of Olympic Aid for six years, Johann founded Right To Play in 2000, an international organization that is working to create a world in which every child can experience the best values of sport: respect, fairness, teamwork, self-esteem, and a healthy lifestyle.

Using Sport and Play to Foster Community Development
Right To Play uses sport and play programs to improve health, develop life skills, and foster peace for children and communities in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the world. It trains local community leaders as coaches who facilitate programs in 23 countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and South America. In addition, a team of top athletes from more than 40 countries serves as role models, and supports the organization by raising awareness and promoting opportunities for funding Right To Play projects.

Working with partners, funders, and local communities, Right To Play tailors its programs to meet the needs of each community it serves. These programs use sport and play to improve outcomes in four development impact areas:

• Basic Education and Child Development—teach important values and life skills to foster the physical, cognitive and social development of children
• Health Promotion and Disease Prevention—educate and mobilize communities around national health and disease prevention priorities, including HIV and AIDS, malaria and immunization
• Conflict Resolution and Peace Education—encourage and facilitate community healing and the reintegration of children affected by war
• Community Development—build sustainable community infrastructure through the engagement of local staff and local and international volunteers

Promoting Peace in the Midst of Chaos
When war erupted in the Nahr-al-Bared refugee camp in north Lebanon in 2007, nearly 35,000 Palestinian refugees were displaced. Forced to find a new home in the neighboring Bedawi refugee camp, many youth began engaging in dangerous levels of aggression—likely an effect of the violence surrounding their most recent uprooting. Right To Play Project Coordinators who worked in the camp began offering sport and play programs that focused on peace building as well as teaching healthy emotional expressions for fear, anger, and frustration. Right To Play games teach inclusion and conflict resolution, and help youth reflect on how they can use these skills in their own lives, particularly while in the crowded living conditions of the camp. "Games unite people together," said one local Right To Play coach. "The most important thing is that children get to know each other. They build a foundation of peace. Even when they go back to their own countries, they will still be friends."

Looking Toward One Million Lives Touched
Deploying a network of more than 15,000 trained local coaches, Right To Play reaches more than 600,000 children through organized play on a weekly basis. As Johann continues to expand the organization's reach, he intends to grow Right To Play to serve more than one million children annually in regular programming by 2012.