B4 Development (B4D) and the Generation Amazing Foundation – Qatar 2022 legacy projects launched by the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) – recently hosted the eighth Legacy Majlis event in collaboration with Qatar Foundation at Al Bidda Tower. Part of a series of community of practice meetings on behavioural economics, the session discussed how sport can be used to incentivise behavioural change.

The session focused on promoting the values of Generation Amazing, which harnesses the power of football to create positive social change around the globe, and how to nudge fans into ethical online behaviour. This includes the fight against hate speech and misinformation on social media platforms.

The keynote speaker was social media entrepreneur, critically-acclaimed author and former investigative journalist, Appu Suresh. He is the Founder and CEO of social media app Pixstory, which uses nudge theory to build healthier community spaces by reducing toxicity in online conversations.

“The unprecedented level of hate and misinformation amplified by social media is the largest threat to humanity,” said Suresh. “We want to leverage the power of sport to bring in social change, and we are doing it in partnership with clubs such as Arsenal, which has a proven record of proactively fighting online toxicity.”

In recent years, hate speech and fake news on social media platforms have become major issues. An independent report recently published by FIFA showed more than half of players received some form of discriminatory abuse online.

NBA legend Dwight Howard, a Pixstory ambassador, said: “I have had long conversations with my friends and colleagues about the way the world is going. How children are receiving information, whether good or bad, is at an all-time high. And a lot of the time, kids don’t understand a lot of things they look at on the internet. They are getting exposed to things that are detrimental to their health physically, emotionally, spiritually and mentally. I have five kids and wanted to find a safe platform for them, their friends and families to tell the truth, hear the truth and not any false information and negativity.”

Nasser Al Khori, Executive Director, Generation Amazing Foundation, said: “Generation Amazing aims to help people in general, and youth specifically, to develop positive behavioural patterns in addition to global citizenship skills, while supporting capacity building through the power of football, basketball and other team sports. Collaborating with B4D, other entities, and well-known athletes will help the cause and allow for wider effect and further reach of social change, especially in disadvantaged and marginalised communities.”

Founded in 2016 by the SC as the Qatar Behavioural Insights Unit, and incubated in the Office of the Secretary General, B4D is the Middle East and North Africa region’s first behavioural insights and nudge unit. In 2019, B4D was officially incorporated as a foundation under the Qatar Financial Centre, with a broader mandate to promote and replicate its nudge work and model around the world.

Generation Amazing Foundation delivers sport for development programmes in alignment with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals and Qatar National Vision 2030 to promote sustainability, inclusion, and gender equality. It utilises the power of football to teach key life skills, including communication, leadership, teamwork and compassion – particularly in communities in need. Since 2010, Generation Amazing has implemented programmes in 75 countries with a range of partners and positively impacted the lives of more than 1 million people.