Location

USA Community Campus

The Youth Charter's Sport for Development and Peace work in USA started in 1994 with the Spirit of Hulme and Moss Side tour to Los Angeles, in partnership LA84 Foundation and Amateur Athletics Foundation legacy programmes of the LA 1984 Olympic Games. This tour reciprocated the Youth Charter hosting an LA tour group in Manchester in 1993.

Youth Charter, Muhammad Ali Centre & Muhammad Ali Institute for Peace & Justice

In 2006, the Youth Charter hosted the Muhammad Ali Scholars Tour Group, from the Muhammad Ali Institute for Peace & Justice, during the UK leg of their global trip. A further tour group was hosted in 2010 with our American friends meeting with young people from across the North West of England and then taking part in a London 2012 Olympic Legacy conference organised by the Youth Charter in conjunction with the University of Roehampton.

The Youth Charter has established a lasting relationship with the Muhammad Ali Centre in Louisville and has participated in, and contributed to, the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards and has delivered the Float Like a Butterfly Social Coach Leadership Programme workshops.

Float Like a Butterfly Social Coach Leadership Programme

The Float Like a Butterfly Social Coach Leadership Programme (FLAB SCLP) was launched in 2016, following the passing of the late great Muhammad Ali and was initially delivered in two cities: Manchester, UK; and Louisville, USA.

The Muhammad Ali 6 Core Principles are at the very heart and essence of the personal and professional characteristics that determine the Social Coach’s commitment of engaging, equipping and empowering young people and communities.

Smoke Town Community Campus

The Youth Charter was hosted by Muhammad Ali Board Member, Councillor Barbara Sexton-Smith during its four-day engagement with the Smoketown community. Cllr Sexton-Smith’s dynamic and engaging commitment to all of her constituents was clear to see, witness and experience. This allowed the Youth Charter to gain a real-life insight to the day-to-day challenges experienced by a community of historic deprivation.

The Youth Charter was also hosted by the Chief of Police of Louisville, Steve Conrad, who, with seven of his most senior officers and Councillor Barbara Sexton-Smith, engaged with the community as part of their continued commitment to safer and healthier neighbourhoods.

To develop cross-sector support for a Smoke Town Community Campus, the Muhammad Ali Center invited Louisville Private, Public and Third Sector organisations to attend a special event: “Violence Prevention Programs - Why They’re Not Working: a View from Manchester to Louisville”. The event saw the Youth Charter, Founder and Chair, Geoff Thompson, deliver a high-level discussion with key stakeholders on how the life and legacy of Muhammad Ali can be translated into tools for community-building and violence prevention.

LA 2028 - Project Greatness

Muhammad Ali became an Olympic Champion aged 18, providing the platform for him to become the ‘Greatest’ boxer of all time, and using his fame to be a Messenger of Peace.  

The Youth Charter is now developing an LA 2028 - Project Greatness, as part of the USA Community Campus and the Muhammad Ali Centre’s Legacy in Action and a #GlobalCall2Action with the Muhammad Ali Institute of Peace and Justice, and aiming to support the delivery of the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. 

“Just as Officer Joe Martin helped to change the course of young Cassius Clay’s life, we have found that a strong Social Coach equipped with comprehensive resources and curricula materials based on Muhammad Ali’s 6 Core Principles can interrupt cycles of disaffection and hopelessness that lead to violence within our communities. The Muhammad Ali Center and Youth Charter are fortified in our resolve to grow the Float Like a Butterfly Social Coach Leadership Program and to expand the reach of Muhammad Ali’s legacy into communities globally.”

Donald E. Lassere, former President and CEO, Muhammad Ali Centre