On 1-2 December the first coordinators' meeting of streetfootballworld network members in South America took place in Montevideo (Uruguay). The aim of the event was to create a space for dialogue, exchange of ideas, and identify synergies between the organisations that constitute the network in South America.

Representatives of the following organisations participated in the event: Fundación Defensores del Chaco, Club 25 de Mayo, Club Deportivo y Cultural Bongiovanni, Asociación Civil Grupo Cre-Arte, Asociación Civil Andar (Argentina); Associação Cristã de Moços do Rio Grande do Sul, FORMAÇÃO - Centro de Apoio à Educação Básica, Fundação Esportiva e Educacional Pro-Criança e Adolescente (Brazil); Gente Viva - Proyecto CHIGOL, Fundación Educere, Pac Gol (Chile); Colombianitos (Colombia); Fundación de las Américas para el Desarrollo, Ser Paz (Ecuador); Centro para el Desarrollo de la Inteligencia - CDI (Paraguay); Asociación Pro-Niño Intimo - ACPNI (Peru); Gurises Unidos and the host organisation Mundo Afro, from Uruguay.

In addition, several colleagues from streetfootballworld attended the event with representatives from the Fundación Fútbol para el Desarrollo, who act as the Regional Coordination point for streetfootballworld in South America.

Two days of intense work
The Uruguayan Ministry of Tourism and Sport was the venue of the meeting, which was convened on 1 December. Dignitaries from the Ministry, representatives from streetfootballworld and the Regional Coordination in South America officially opened the meeting.

During the first day, results of the Network Board meeting that had taken place in November 2009 in Berlin were presented. On this basis, topics of strategic importance for the South American members were discussed in order to formulate recommendations for strengthening the network (regionally and on a globally), and developing a political and conceptual vision of the network.

The ideas and contributions coming out of this session will soon be shared with the rest of the members through the Network Board and other communication channels.

Football, ‘candombe’ and afro-uruguayan culture
It was not all work during the meeting and football and cultural activities could of course not be left out. After a very fruitful first day, the coordinators met for a football match, with the “senior” team running out (surprise) winners. At the end of the second day, Mundo Afro impressed everyone with a historic walk through the old centre of Montevideo, highlighting its Afro-Uruguayan heritage and giving guests the opportunity to learn more about the history of the first Africans that arrived on the continent as slaves. In the evening the delegates visited an exhibition of Afro-Uruguayan history and culture at the headquarters of Mundo Afro and later on enjoyed a performance of ‘Candombe’ – the music that characterises Afro-Uruguayan expression.

Everybody experienced two days of intense work and friendship that will be an important legacy for the future development of the network.