Princess Rani Vanouska Modely is the Founder of the Football World Heritage Organization, and the official ambassador delegate to lead the candidacy of Football as a world intangible heritage to be registered on UNESCO’s list. Rani Vanouska T.Modely is a descendant from one of the most important houses of the Indian Empire. Princess Rajput, of the Chauhan royal dynasty, heiress of the direct lineage of King Hammira-Deva Chauhan of Ranthambhore. Whose ancestor is none other than HRH Prithviraj Chauhan III, “the last Emperor of India” who ruled the kingdoms of Ajmer and Delhi in northern India. She is originally from French, British and Indo-European noble families.
Why does Princess Rani Vanouska T. Modely thinks football can change the World? The world’s systems are crumbling under economic crises, the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, human rights problems, and so on. With this in mind, the candidacy seeks to encourage the signatory states of UNESCO and the world of football to adopt policies to support and finance social, educational, and charitable initiatives. Like Nelson Mandela said, “Football can change the world.”
Helping football grow means also helping poor local communities grow. As football is played mostly by kids Rani Vanouska Modely attention is focused on bringing humanitarian relief for young people all over the world. Football is creating bridges between people without distinction of language, religion, race or sex discrimination and , because of this, it is a perfect tool to change the world and promote human rights, equity and fairness. Princess Rani Vanouska T. Modely views the sport as a tool for rekindling hope in the lives of children around the world.
Vanouska Modely conceived her Football World Heritage idea when invited to the Champion’s League Final awards ceremony in Monaco in the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Football is much more than the most popular sport, it is a universal common language shared by 4.5 billion people on the planet. It, therefore, has its full place in the service of the objectives of the United Nations: education, culture, social inclusion, equality, environment and the development of the programs of nations united in the service of PEACE.
Jacques Seguela shared, ” Rani Vanouska is the perfect person for such an ambitious project as she has the vision as well as the spirit to push the cause of peace around the world.It is a privilege and an honour to be associated with her as I have been privy to her extensional growth as a person. That is the reason why I, along with the Havas Group, have confirmed our support for her and Football World Heritage ”.
Tell us about #onechildoneball? In line with UNESCO’s objectives, this support and funding of charitable initiatives will be the second phase of the action which is already preparing a very ambitious project entitled #OneChildOneBall which aims to distribute a real soccer ball free of charge to every child on the planet. It’s simple, it’s natural, give a ball to a child of any age, he’ll kick it! However, if many children get together during moments of joy around the world to play soccer, they sometimes do it with an orange, a sock ball or even pieces of paper as a ball. Giving them a real ball is first of all a strong symbol, and meeting their hero is changing their life. Kicking a balloon means more than we think, it means communicating, sharing, coexisting, transmitting. Every child needs this, every child deserves a balloon on this planet.
“Football can change the world.” It’s a common language, activity, source of health and happiness. Many football organizations have already shown support for Princess Rani Vanouska Modely and her UNESCO football candidacy bid. “We are conscious of the enormous power of the most popular sport in the world, of its capacity to act as a vehicle for universal values such as fair-play and respect and of its efficiency in the strive for social improvement that is the equality between men and women, social inclusion, tolerance, and education. We hope that Football will be saved in the Intangible Cultural Heritage list of UNESCO” – Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).
What’s the goal ? Our goal is to bring a real ball to every child on the planet that cannot afford one as a universal symbol of freedom and equality. Developing football infrastructure, local projects, giving all children a place where football can be played. Football means happy and healthy kids, and there is no better investment for the future than that.
For example, as the FWH project is building steam heading toward the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the G20 is considering the importance of Climate Change, working now to pave the way for the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) for the United Nations Framework on Climate Change, which will be co-hosted between Italy and the UK. Climate change fits into the goal of sustainable development, which is one of FWH’s Six Universal Values (the others being cultural diversity, youth and education, access to food and water, gender equality, and last but certainly not least, respect). As the organization explains, “Football is the most powerful tool to unite people and cross many boundaries, such as geographical, ethic, cultural and religious. It is by definition, the most powerful tool to make change around the world and team up for climate change for all generations. FWH is reaching out to all Football World Leaders and World Top’s Climate champions to make a change.”
Some think at Vanouska Modely as a Mother Theresa for football and the comparison is natural if you look at the motives and the goals involved. Fighting against child poverty, fighting for human rights and happiness, that creates similarities between the two. The young beauty, Princess Rani Vanouska T. Modely thinks that football should be registered as part of UNESCO’s World Cultural Intangible Heritage with a special focus on children and unity ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. This require 185 countries to sign the initiative and many already did it.
This is not the first time that Rani Vanouska Modely has been associated with such an empowering project. She was appointed as a Gusi Peace Prize ambassador with the support of Président Jacques Chirac. Right at the start of 2015, she was named Goodwill representative by Daniel Janicot, the President of the French National Commission of UNESCO and she instantly became dedicated to the cause of education and children. Therefore, she was not interested in politics and behaviours, she wanted “ to act on the field much “ closer to people” She has always taken pride in the fact that she is in a position to make changes in the world and work to make things better. Throughout her life, she has engaged herself in educational projects and in spreading awareness about culture worldwide.