Right to Play

One of the interesting things that I learned during my visit to the Beijing Paralympics was the relationship and role of sponsor companies during the games, and the immense value that corporate sponsors can find by becoming involved in the games.

I personally came away with newfound respect for Samsung* and PetroCanada for their support of the games and the athletes, both Olympic and Paralympic. On the flip side, I came away with less respect for GE and Johnston & Johnston, who packed up the show and left town before "Part II." You can guarantee that when I'm next looking for home appliances, I'll be choosing the Korean company with a strong ethic of corporate responsibility over the American company that just seeks short-term glory.

Unfortunately, my impression another Olympic Sponsor, General Motors, was deeply tarnished by two recent articles in the Globe. Sadly, the Vancouver organizing committee also takes a large part of the responsibility for the decision to exclude Right to Play from the 2010 Games, and I can't help but be deeply disappointed.

For those of you not familiar with Right to Play, it's an organization that seeks to bring sport - fun stuff like soccer - to kids in desperately poor and complicated countries, where even finding a ball and field to play in safety is a challenge, let alone a short release and distraction from the day-to-day struggle to survive. I was introduced to the organization when one of my colleagues left Vancouver to work for Right to Play in Africa, and I've been following and supporting the organizations activities wherever possible since then.

Ironically, at this summer's games in China Right to Play was present and active. It seems wrong that, here in Canada - a country with more apparent freedom of speech - we would be the ones to restrict their extraordinary activities and message.

I really hope that organizers can find a way around this arbitrary restriction. Meanwhile, you can count on me to give my opinion to VANOC on this choice, as well as make my own buying choices that reflect companies with a conscience - hopefully you'll do the same.



*one of the things I learned about Samsung is they created one of the first guide dog training programs in Korea, and are current working to set up the a similiar school in China, which will be a first for that country. How great is that?