Mary Kane
The next two years will be a rollercoaster of activity for Sara Nicholls, a master’s student in the Faculty of Health Science’s human kinetics and collaborative program in women’s studies. Nicholls is one of two Canadians, one male and one female, chosen as UN youth goodwill ambassadors. Each of the 193 member states of the UN selected ambassadors.
Nicholls and Matthew Cimone, a student from the University of Toronto, were selected at the first-ever United Nations Global Youth Leadership Summit held in New York City in October 2006. The summit, with a central theme of the power of sport and culture, focused on the role young people can play in meeting the Millennium Development Goals.
Nicholls and Cimone are passionate about the importance of sport and physical activity in international development. “We are the first ambassadors, so Matthew and I have two years and a completely blank slate to dream big and engage as many partners as we can in the process.” They are particularly anxious to include more discussions with Aboriginal youth, girls and youth with disabilities, whom they say are frequently absent from “youth engagement activities.”
Nicholls brings plenty of international experience to the position. She spent eight months working with the National Olympic Committee of Zambia on a women and sport initiative. In addition, she worked with the National Sports Council of Zambia and local NGOs to strengthen “Kicking AIDS Out,” an international network of organizations that uses peer education and sport to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS.
In her role as ambassador, she will represent both Canada and Commonwealth Games Canada (CGC), for whom she previously worked as the senior Africa regional officer. CGC uses sport as a tool for social development and supports the use of sport for development in Africa and the Caribbean.
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