International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) is celebrated annually on April 6th. The UN observes and values this day because they recognize the positive influence that sport can have on the advancement of human rights, and social and economic development. With the popularity of sport worldwide, and its foundation of positive values, sport has an incredible ability to contribute to the UN’s objectives for development and peace.

In the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, sport’s role in and potential for social progress is further acknowledged: "Sport is also an important enabler of sustainable development. We recognize the growing contribution of sport to the realization of development and peace in its promotion of tolerance and respect and the contributions it makes to the empowerment of women and young people, individuals, and communities as well as to health, education, and social inclusion objectives."

The power of sport and the potential it holds to do good in the world is everything that Lacrosse the Nations is about. Our mission at Lacrosse the Nations is to improve the lives of children across the world. We use lacrosse as our tool and the lacrosse field as our platform to teach students valuable life skills and improve education, while ultimately bringing joy to their lives.

Each of our program sites is built with an emphasis on sustainability. To achieve sustainability, we are committed to having cultural relevance, mindful partnerships, and dedicated staff at each of our international sites. We collaborate with local leaders to identify how LtN can best help their community, and then adapt our programs to address their specific challenges. We partner with schools and organizations on the ground to be our eyes, ears, and trusted advisors. These local leaders help provide us with the necessary infrastructure to bring lacrosse to new communities. Our staff members are leaders in the communities we serve. Through our program model, LtN coaches become valuable mentors and role models for our student-athletes.

You can learn more about what we do and how we do it from our mission to our model here. Day in and day out, LtN is using sport for development and peace in our communities around the world.

“Sport has the power to align our passion, energy, and enthusiasm around a collective cause. And that is precisely when hope can be nurtured and trust can be regained. It is in our collective interest to harness the tremendous power of sport to help build a better and more sustainable future for all." -UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed

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