Sport can be a very powerful and motivating tool.  It can help young people to develop leadership, communications and management skills in a way that is not only effective but also enjoyable.

Dreams and Teams is a British Council project, run since 2001 in 45 countries all around the world.  In our region (central and northern Europe and Russia), seven countries are involved: Slovakia, Ukraine, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Latvia and the UK. The project aims to develop leadership skills and understanding of other cultures among young people through sport and international school links (pairs of partner schools who co-operate over a fixed period of time – for this project, approximately three years).

The UK has a successful track-record in using sport as an educational tool and the project aims to share this experience with other countries.  

The project has been designed for dedicated and energetic high school pupils who want to develop their skills and also for teachers, trainers and local authorities who want to make a difference in their local communities. The British Council has involved ministers and senior policy-makers in the Dreams and Teams project so that they recognise the importance of education through sport and make adequate provision for it in the school curriculum.

The main project activities include:

			a series of leadership training during which experienced trainers from the Youth Sport Trust in the UK train teachers on how to train students to deliver sport festivals for children and how to involve the local community
			support for those organising sports festivals both in big cities and small towns
			development of school links; most Dreams and Teams schools in our region have their partner schools in the UK – links are also established between local communities
			support for the development of youth clubs in all Dreams and Teams schools so they become centres for Dreams and Teams and local activities in arts, science, and other areas
			training for the country lead trainers who will be able to deliver international trainings for teachers in different countries when the project is taken over by local partners.

We do not plan to involve any more new schools until the end of this stage of the project (December 2009).  We are, however, looking for partner organisations willing to take over the project when we withdraw in 2009 and who will help schools maintain the links; acknowledge the importance of sports as an educational tool; oversee and co-ordinate all the Dreams and Teams activities in the particular country; and stay in touch with organisations in other countries who have become similarly involved.