A French Big Data start-up has launched a global sports initiative with UNICEF to defend children’s rights.
Sport Heroes Group – formerly Running Heroes – uses the data generated by running apps and online technology to build sports communities which encourage mass and bespoke participation.
The free initiative ‘Team UNICEF – Get Active for Children’ enables participants to unlock a corporate donation upon completing 5km by foot or wheelchair.
Participants can also accumulate points by exercising and accomplishing other activities, including completion of a quiz about children’s rights on the Team UNICEF platform.
The initiative is compatible with RunKeeper, Strava, Nike+, Runtastic and MapMyRun.
Users simply need to connect their app to the platform by registering with an email address and password . Runs will automatically be synchronised.
“We want everyone to get into the sporting spirit and Get Active for Children to help raise vital funds for UNICEF’s work for the world’s most vulnerable children,” said UNICEF’s chief of communication and partnerships in Brazil, Edith Asibey.
Team UNICEF Get Active for Children is supported by Ogilvy Brazil, the Development Bank of Latin America and Save the Dream.
Sport Heroes Group was founded in 2014 by Boris Pourreau and Jean-Charles Touzalin and is aimed at enriching sport by creating digital experiences that are fun, inspiring and social.
It has a community of close to 300,000 members.
We reported last month how data is being used to improve performance and transform the way decisions are taken in football.