GLASGOW, Scotland — On June 26, 2024, K-Pop Group SEVENTEEN and UNESCO announced their joint initiative for youth well-being: “Going Together – For Youth Creativity and Well-Being.”  The initiative aims to promote youth expression and empower them to combat world issues. To do this, young people from around the world submitted proposals the initiative may select to support. In February 2025, Going Together announced 100 winners from 70 countries.

SEVENTEEN and UNESCO

The sensational, cult-following Korean boy band SEVENTEEN is contributing $1 million to the youth initiative, according to UNESCO. The 13-member group made their first public appearance in 2015. Although immediately popular, the group’s fame has only grown. SEVENTEEN has received nominations for the iHeart Radio Music Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, American Music Awards and the Asia Artist Awards. Their album FML was the highest-selling record of 2023, and they have played iconic stages such as Glastonbury.

UNESCO is SEVENTEEN’s counterpart in the “Going Together – For Youth Creativity and Well-Being” initiative. UNESCO aims to fight global issues while particularly protecting education and culture. With its resources and international reputation, UNESCO will provide the tools to support the projects chosen by the initiative.

The Going Together Initiative

As said in its name, “Going Together” promotes youth creativity and well-being. The initiative supports projects led by young people aged 18 to 30 years old using music, the arts and sport to empower youth, according to UNESCO.

The initiative provides selected projects with funding, training sessions and mentoring to help develop their projects in a way that will result in the greatest positive impact possible. Support from the initiative will empower both individuals impacted by and who lead selected projects. The financial grant particularly increases cash flow into these challenge-stricken areas. Empowerment and increased funding combat poverty, an additional benefit from SEVENTEEN and UNESCO’s “Going Together – For Youth Creativity and Well-Being” Initiative.

Somalia: Kick Start for Equality

Led by Amoun Aden, Kick Start for Equality – Using Sports and Arts for Girls Rights, was selected by ‘Going Together’ in Somalia. Women lead the initiative and aim to use interaction with sport and the arts to foster stronger communal ties and to enhance women’s rights.

Kick Start for Equality is a part of the UBAH Inspire Initiative Organization. Established in 2017, UBAH strengthens confidence and social ties in women and girls through providing opportunities for involvement in sport, education, networking and skill development. The selection of its subsidiary by the ‘Going Together’ initiative will expand the organization’s impact, allowing it to empower more women and girls.

Other Initiatives

Due to the newness of the selected initiatives, information on project specifics is limited. However, most of the initiatives are in developing countries in Africa, South Asia and Latin America. For example, Project Palabasa is a project in the Philippines aiming to enhance youth literacy and interest in reading.

The intended impact of K-Pop Group SEVENTEEN and UNESCO’s youth well-being initiative is seen in their selection of projects globally that promote well-being through music, the arts and sport. These efforts impact poverty through empowering youth to combat global issues and increasing funds flowing into developing regions. With SEVENTEEN’s $1 million contribution and UNESCO’s expertise, this program could make a widespread positive impact.

– Madison Fetch

Madison is based in Glasgow, Scotland and focuses on Business and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

El Modena players and coaches with the CIF So Cal Division I regional plaque. (PHOTOS: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).

It was a promising start for El Modena High School’s softball team in the CIF So Cal Regional Division I championship game Saturday afternoon.

Kaitlyn Galasso led off the bottom of the first inning and Monica Garcia belted a home run to put the Vanguards ahead 2-0.

But No. 2-seeded Mater Dei Catholic from Chula Vista stayed close, then broke the game open with six runs in the fourth inning and went on to capture a 12-3 victory, securing the program’s second regional title.

To see the slide show, click on the first photo:

Mater Dei Catholic players celebrate the championship.

El Modena Coach Bobby Calderon looks on as El Modena and Mater Dei Catholic players take part in the post-game ceremony.

El Modena starter Ashley Driskill throws a warm-up pitch. The third baseman is Monica Garcia.

El Modena coach Bobby Calderon talks with his hitters during a brief break.

El Modena pitcher Ashley Driskill throws a pitch to Liana Quinones of Mater Dei Catholic.The catcher is Parker Mayes.

El Modena catcher Parker Mayes waits for a pitch.

Mater Dei Catholic pitcher Arri Romero gets ready to throw a warm-up pitch.

El Modena coach Bobby Calderon writes up the starting lineup.

Arri Romero went the distance for Mater Dei Catholic (27-7) scattering six hits and striking out nine. Mater Dei Catholic banged out 13 hits off starter Ashley Driskoll and relievers Jules Vega and Kylie Campana.

Top-seeded El Modena was trying to bring home the school’s first CIF So Cal regional title after losing to Norco last week in the CIF Division 1 final. A big turnout of fans from both schools packed the stands at El Modena.

“I knew we were going to compete as long as we could, it’s just unfortunate we ran out of bullets there at the end,” said El Modena Coach Bobby Calderon. “They’re legit, they have their full squad, you can’t take anything away from them. We knew what we were walking into.”

El Modena (23-10) was 12-2 at home going into the game.

“Us being here at home, obviously this is our home, we’ re comfortable and we do what we do, we came out and struck first and put is in a good situation, there are probably a couple opportunities that we wish we could capitalize a little more but we came up short and they kept playing, that’s the name of the game.”

Calderon was pleased with the start.

“Those girls, Kaitlyn Galasso and Monica Garcia have been carrying us all year,” Calderon said. “When they’re successful, we’re successful and they proved it, we just came up short.”

After Mater Dei Catholic cut the lead to 2-1 in the fourth inning, the Vanguards answered in the bottom of the inning with a run on an RBI single by Parker Mayes, who drove in Driskill who singled.

But in the fifth innning, Mater Dei Catholic used four hits, four walks and a hit batter to score seven runs. Analesse Garcia had the key hit, a bases clearing double. The Crusaders added five more runs in the seventh inning. Maya Matthies had a two-run home run and Garcia a solo home run in the inning.

Despite the tough ending, Calderon and the El Modena players remained proud of what the team accomplished. El Modena was ranked No. 1 in the final county poll by OC Varsity.

“To be honest with you, it was absolutely historic,” Calderon said. “You look at what we accomplished, winning the Dave Kops Tournament without one of our best players, winning the league title and obviously getting to the CIF Division 1 championship, El Modena has been in Division 1 only one other time.

“We came out, we were that close to a championship at the Division 1 level, we got to do this which was very important to our school, our community. You look at the tremendous amount of support we got here today, I think that sums it up. The crowd was awesome, we’re missing a lot of players (who opted out). For everyone to be here and want to be a part of it, and alumni showing up and parents of former players showing up, it’s exactly what you want to be a part of.”

Calderon said that four El Modena starters opted out and were not available for the final.

Garcia, the El Modena senior third baseman, was excited about the Vanguards’ start.

“Going into this game we all had the mindset of attacking early on every single pitch that we can,” Garcia said. “Obviously, she’s (Romero) is a really great pitcher so we just wanted to attack as hard as we can, that was my mindset was going into the at bat, put the ball hard in play and find a way to get the runner in and it happened to work out.”

Garcia was proud of what the team accomplished.

“I transferred in my junior year,” she said. “It’s probably the best environment that one can play softball at. Our coaches are super supportive of each other, our teammates have one of the best connection with each other, I think that this season was obviously super memorable, winning Dave Kops (Tournament), making CIF championship and obviously being here. It was definitely one of the best seasons that anyone could have.”

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: Go to X (at OC Sports Zone) for post-game interviews and highlights by OC Sports Zone’s Adam Kunin.

—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com

GREAT FALLS — To cap off the first-ever spring season in the new Great Falls NFL flag football league, the individuals who helped create the league set up the championships to be played at Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

WATCH THE VIDEO:

First-ever Memorial Bowl flag football championships take place Saturday in Great Falls

“Let’s get the kids in (to Memorial Stadium), see what they’re going to eventually play in,” league founder George Fontanez said. “Get the parents out here … have the community out here, get some food trucks out here just to make it a big community event. And especially to have the kids play on the turf for the first time, it’s going to be awesome.”

Fontanez, alongside Mitchell Morris and Zack Ringler — a current assistant football coach at Great Falls High — grouped together to create this league, and with that the opportunity for kids to play for a championship in a setting they aren’t normally accustomed to.

Cody Westbrook is one of the coaches, and he said it gets the kids pumped up to play at Memorial Stadium.

“Because you get a big stadium like this, the kids are thinking they’re only getting to play in the back of a baseball field or at a practice field,” Westbrook said.

Some kids expressed their positive feelings about Saturday’s event, as well.

“Yeah, very excited,” Noah Lambers said.

“Pretty awesome,” Cooper Willis said.

“It’s a lot different and cooler,” Colt Popham said.

“It’s really cool,” Hurley Grant said. “In my tackle football league, we played in this for our championship and won it, so it’s really nice to be back here.”

Grant also has a nickname on the field.

“Mr. Touchdown,” Grant said. “Because my coach says every single game I score the most touchdowns and get MVP most of the time.”

Memorial Bowls will be held for every flag football season moving forward, Fontanez said.

“This just shows that the sky’s the limit,” Fontanez said. “If we can show it here, when we move to Helena and then eventually Butte, get something the same way to where we can all just bring all the cities together and say we did this, the kids, the families, the parents did this together. We all do this together. It wasn’t just one person.”

Fontanez and Westbrook both have been anticipating this day, too, they said.

“I want to win a championship today with my son,” Fontanez said. “My son is 6 years old. I told my wife this morning — and I kind of teared up thinking about it — 6 years old, I said this could be his first championship, and then we’re going to look back on it when he’s playing in the state championship in high school.”

“I get giddy every time,” Westbrook said. “I’m pumped up right now. This is kind of my favorite thing to do in life is coach, so this is probably something I’m going to do after I retire from my job and then continue it on. I love it. … I get pumped up for the kids every time.”