The Southeast Asia Youth Crime Prevention and Sports Initiative (SYCP) is a program co-launched by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the French Development Agency (AFD), aimed at using sports as a tool to prevent crime, violence, and negative behaviours, thereby building safer communities. The initiative is coordinated by the Alliance of Sports for Criminal Justice (AoS) with four key countries: Viet Nam, Laos, Thailand, and the Philippines.
The program's objective is to directly support projects in each country by connecting experts from the Sports and Justice sectors in efforts to promote physical development and a healthy lifestyle for youth in each country in the region. In addition, the program also aims to build a cohesive community to share knowledge and effective physical education methods for young people.
VieNam is one of the pioneering countries implementing this program through the coordination of the Viet Nam Sports Authority. The projects actively integrate sports into moral education, life skills, and behaviour guidance for young people to reduce social evils.
Previously, the first session of the Initiative held in February 2026 kicked off a series of online workshops and opened up many opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration in the region. The first session, chaired by Deputy Director of the Sports Authority, Le Thi Hoang Yen, was not only a space for professional discussion but also demonstrated Viet Nam's strong commitment to implementing global strategies for human development.
A clear implementation roadmap has been outlined with specific timelines over the course of 18 months, including meetings with relevant ministries and sectors, the development of an implementation framework, and training activities. Ensuring that each country can develop policies suitable for its specific circumstances.
At this third meeting, the parties continued to contribute ideas and discuss projects from member countries. On the Vietnamese side, contributing to this working session, the Sports Authority invited a representative from the Department of Social Protection (Ministry of Health) to present a proposal for inter-sectoral coordination mechanisms in social prevention and child protection. The proposed activities specifically addressed the target audience, participating parties, specific objectives, and the implementation process for each phase. The implementation process is carried out through national media events, national forums, and sports activities. The plan has also received input from the meeting participants to propose practical support methods in the near future.
At the end of the meeting, the representative of the Viet Nam Sports Authority expressed gratitude to the International Olympic Committee, the French Development Agency, and the Sports Union for supporting and assisting the projects and activities implemented in the four countries: Thailand, Laos, the Philippines, and Viet Nam. Vietn Nam appreciates the progress in implementing the Southeast Asia Youth Crime Prevention and Sports Initiative (SYCP) and is preparing a plan to build the capacity of national working groups in the four countries.
According to the plan, the next session will take place on July 3, 2026, with a presentation of the plan by the Philippines.
Huyen Trang