Fight for Peace outlines future vision at 11 Downing Street networking event

London, UK, 15 November 2013: Fight for Peace, the NGO that combines boxing and martial arts with education and personal development, last night held a high level networking event at 11 Downing Street to celebrate past achievements and to set out a long term vision for the organisation, including the planned redevelopment of its London Academy which is now full to capacity.

It is also hoped that the event, which was attended by the Chancellor, George Osborne, will create new opportunities for Fight for Peace to develop partnerships that can help the organisation grow and realise its ambition of investing in more young people, helping them to reach their full potential by providing a sporting and educational alternative to crime and violence.

The Chancellor opened the event with a welcome speech which was followed by a presentation by members of the Fight for Peace Youth Council - a group of young people democratically elected to represent the Academy Members – on their experiences at Fight for Peace.

The London Academy, located in the same borough as the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Newham, opened in 2007, seven years after the original academy in Rio de Janeiro was launched. Since 2007, more than 3,000 young people have joined.

Speaking at the event, The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, said:

"I would like to congratulate Luke and the Fight for Peace team for the incredible work that they are doing through the London Academy. It is inspiring to hear about their work and the difference they can make to the lives of young people by combining boxing and martial arts with education. I hope that this brilliant organisation continues to grow and develop so that it can offer more opportunities and help more young people realise their full potential."

Luke Dowdney, Fight for Peace Founder and Director, said:

"It’s great to be here at 11 Downing Street and we’re delighted to have the opportunity to present our vision and the direction in which we want to take this organisation. We are also grateful for the kind words from the Chancellor and we will look to harness this encouragement as we set out on taking the movement to the next level.

"At Fight for Peace we are absolutely committed to expanding the project to enable us to provide more opportunities through sport for as many young people as possible. We have a clear vision of what we want to achieve and with the hard work and dedication of the staff and Academy Members alongside the valued backing of our supporters we believe we can continue to grow and change lives for the better."

For more information about Fight for Peace, please visit fightforpeace.net.

As a service to our readers, Around the Rings will provide verbatim texts of selected press releases issued by Olympic-related organizations, federations, businesses and sponsors.

These press releases appear as sent to Around the Rings and are not edited for spelling, grammar or punctuation.

20 Years at #1: