The Azerbaijan Judo Federation just launched a campaign to remind everyone about the importance of sport in the fight against drug abuse and trafficking.

26th June will be the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. In 2022 the theme is ‘addressing drug challenges in health and humanitarian crises.’ To convey the importance and significance of this day to the general public, the Azerbaijan Judo Federation (AJF) launched a social campaign under the mottos ‘Choose sports, stay healthy!’ and ‘No to drugs,’ calling for the mobilisation of the entire sports community. The main goal of the campaign is to encourage teenagers and young people to choose healthy lifestyles, spend their leisure time more productively and avoid harmful habits.

Ulkar Abbasova, press secretary of the Azerbeijan Judo Federation said, "The goal of this campaign is to encourage teenagers to do sports, avoiding bad habits and to pass their free time outside school in good environments instead of being on the streets.

The AJF decided to involve their own judoka as role models. Unfortunately a lot of these athletes have friends or know people who have these kinds of bad habits and who can be substance abusers. For them it was very important to give their face to this important campaign.

We want to thank the IJF for joining this initiative and we are happy that we could involve other national federations, such as AZE Gymsnastics, as well as international organisations. Judo is the perfect example to promote healthy lifestyles."

Vice President of the AJF, Olympic Champion, Elnur Mammadli, declared, "Currently in Azerbaijan we have thousands of children practising judo. It is no secret that getting children involved in sport will keep them away from smoking, drinking and drugs. It will help them grow mentally and physically, to overcome their own limits and break down any stereotypes they might have encountered. With this campaign we use society's favourite role models, our judo champions, to raise awareness of these issues one more time and to contribute to the growing popularity of judo in Azerbaijan. Judo is a sport that has values and very good habits, such as good nutrition, values, education and post-career care. Promoting judo as a healthy lifestyle is our goal."

We invite you to join the the #CareInCrises campaign and tell us about how you make healthy choices in difficult times. Post your vides on 26th June and help us make World Drug Day a turning point in global efforts to tackle drug challenges! 

Thank you to the Azerbeijan Judo Federation for the beautiful video that kicks off this crucial campaign!

#saynotodrugs #judoforhealth #AJFagainstdrugs #dojudo#

#CareInCrises #DrugFreeWorld #UnitedNations #UNODC #CleanSport

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