This year we celebrate the first-ever International Day of Sport for Development and Peace.
We at the United Nations know that sport is a universal language, uniting groups and nations across divides.
Sport empowers youth, promotes good health and deepens UN values such as equality, mutual respect and fair play.
Sport helps us in spreading messages of peace, driving social change and meeting the Millennium Development Goals.
This International Day will highlight the potential of sport to advance human rights, eliminate barriers and promote global solidarity.
To reach our goals, we need all players on the field: governments, international organizations, the sport sector, civil society, and many others.
I urge all global citizens to join this growing movement and become part of our team to harness the power of sport to build a better world for all.
Ban Ki-moon
Join the Forum : International Day of Sport for Development and Peace , April 6th.
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| Sport for Development and Peace - From Practices to Policy. |
On 4 April 2014, UNOSDP together with the UN Office at Geneva and the Group of Friends of Sport for Development and Peace is hosting a high-level panel discussion, inviting key stakeholders to share their views about the value and use of sport for social change. The roundtable discussion will be followed by a symbolic run/walk around the Palais des Nations, where all participants are encouraged to join the panellists in raising awareness of this celebratory day.
Five key messages will be promoted for the occasion of the International Day celebrations at the Palais des Nations.
Sports and Disciplines
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| Shooting |
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| Handball |
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| Gymnastics Artistic |
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| Weightlifting |
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| Ice Hockey |
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| Basketball |
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| Rowing, Canoe Slalom, Sailing, Canoe Sprint |
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| Volleyball |
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| Trampoline, Athletics |
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| Water Polo, Diving |
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| Gymnastics Rhythmic |
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| Football |
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| Fencing |
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| Swimming, Synchronized swimming |
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| Beach Volleyball |
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| Golf |
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| Archery |
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| Tennis, Badminton |
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| Thiathlon , Cycling BMX, Cycling Mountain Bike, Cycling road, Cycling Track |
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| Boxing |
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| Judo, Wrestling freestyle, Wrestling Greco-Roman |
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| Baseball |
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| Rugby |
10 Golden Rules for Building a Sustainable Sporting Event.
Staging a sustainable sporting event means managing social, economic, and environmental factors to minimise impact, and leaving a positive legacy that continues to enrich host cities and countries long after the event. These simple rules can help to create a much more sustainable event and successful legacy
I - ENERGY :
Find ways to minimise energy usage to reduce emissions and costs. Design facilities and infrastructure for low-energy usage, and maximise the use of renewable energy.
II - WATER :
Try to avoid using drinking water for irrigation, cooling, and sanitary purposes, and minimise all water use through sustainable design. Provide drinking water from the best local source, and avoid bottled water, which is carbon-intensive and creates waste.
III - WASTE :
Avoid waste throughout all phases of planning, construction, and staging. Use or upgrade existing infrastructure, if possible. Design for legacy occupancy to avoid costly conversion and waste, using sustainable temporary structures as appropriate. During the event, minimise waste through recyclable packaging,facilitating recycling and reuse, and implementing take-back options.
IV - MATERIALS :
Use renewable materials that have low environmental impact, are produced locally, have no harmful content, and are from sustainable sources.
V - BIODIVERSITY :
Assess site biodiversity to ensure that in legacy, site biodiversity is maintained or improved. Ensure that planting and landscaping are appropriate to the local conditions and heritage.
VI - ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT :
Minimise noise, dust, and vibration disturbance during construction and the event itself. Minimise long term impacts of materials through sustainable procurement.
VII - INCLUSION :
Ensure that the event is accessible to all ages, abilities, genders, and cultures without discrimination throughout its life cycle. Foster local community ownership and build pride in the event and its legacy. Provide training and education to enhance inclusion.
VIII - HEALTHY LIVING :
Inspire sport, health, and wellbeing in the community. Promote local, sustainable fair trade produce.
IX - PROCUREMENT :
Develop the supply chain for sustainability, transparency, and fair and ethical procurement practices. To avoid waste, standardise where possible, and rent or hire rather than buy. Ensure fair and timely payment for suppliers, particularly small and medium enterprises.
X - TRANSPORT :
Design facilities to minimise the need for transportation of materials (e.g. through prefabricated construction), and to minimise the travel to, from, and between facilities when construction is complete. Focus on public transport, and use low-carbon vehicles with high occupancy. Minimise air travel.
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| Playing for a Greener Future |
Sport has historically played an
important role in all societies, be it in the form of competitive sport,
physical activity or play. But one may wonder: what does sport have to
do with the United Nations? In fact, sport presents a natural
partnership for the United Nations (UN) system:
sport and play are human rights that must be respected and enforced
worldwide; sport has been increasingly recognized and used as a low-cost
and high-impact tool in humanitarian, development and peace-building
efforts, not only by the UN system but also by non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), governments, development agencies, sports federations, armed forces and the media.
Sport can no longer be considered a luxury within any society but is
rather an important investment in the present and future, particularly
in developing countries.
Definition of "Sport"
In a development context the definition
of sport usually includes a broad and inclusive spectrum of activities
suitable to people of all ages and abilities, with an emphasis on the
positive values of sport. In 2003, the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Sport for Development and Peace defined sport, for the purposes of development, as “all
forms of physical activity that contribute to physical fitness, mental
well-being and social interaction, such as play, recreation, organized
or competitive sport, and indigenous sports and games.” This definition has since then been accepted by many proponents of Sport for Development and Peace.
Sport as a fundamental right
The right of access to and participation
in sport and play has long been recognised in a number of international
conventions. In 1978, UNESCO described sport and physical education as a
“fundamental right for all”. But until today, the right to play and
sport has too often been ignored or disrespected.
Sport as a Powerful Tool
Sport has a unique power to attract,
mobilize and inspire. By its very nature, sport is about participation.
It is about inclusion and citizenship. It stands for human values such
as respect for the opponent, acceptance of binding rules, teamwork and
fairness, all of which are principles which are also contained in the Charter of the United Nations.
The UN system draws on the unique convening power of sport as a cross-cutting tool for:
- Fundraising, advocacy, mobilization and raising public awareness: in particular by appointing celebrity athletes as ‘Ambassadors’ or ‘Spokespersons’ and leveraging the potential of sports events as outreach platforms. The mobilizing power of sport is often used as a “door-opener” to convey crucial messages about HIV/AIDS, child’s rights, the environment, education, etc.
- Development and peace promotion: in grassroots projects sport is used in an extremely wide range of situations – whether as an integrated tool in short-term emergency humanitarian aid activities, or in long-term development cooperation projects, on a local, regional or global scale.
Sport plays a significant role as a
promoter of social integration and economic development in different
geographical, cultural and political contexts. Sport is a powerful tool
to strengthen social ties and networks, and to promote ideals of peace,
fraternity, solidarity, non-violence, tolerance and justice. According
to the Sport for Development and Peace International Working Group, sport is seen to have the most benefits in:
- Individual development
- Health promotion and disease prevention
- Promotion of gender equality
- Social integration and the development of social capital
- Peace building and conflict prevention/resolution
- Post-disaster/trauma relief and normalisation of life
- Economic development
- Communication and social mobilisation.
From a development perspective, the
focus is always on mass sport and not elite sport. Sport is used to
reach out to those most in need including refugees, child soldiers,
victims of conflict and natural catastrophes, the impoverished, persons
with disabilities, victims of racism, stigmatization and discrimination,
persons living with HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.
Path to Success
Sport is not a cure-all for development
problems. As a cultural phenomenon, it is a mirror of society and is
just as complex and contradictory.
As such, sport can also have negative
side effects such as violence, corruption, discrimination, hooliganism,
nationalism, doping and fraud. To enable sport to unleash its full
positive potential, emphasis must be placed on effective monitoring and
guiding of sports activities.
The positive potential of sport does not
develop automatically. It requires a professional and socially
responsible intervention which is tailored to the respective social and
cultural context. Successful Sport for Development and Peace programmes
work to realize the right of all members of society to participate in
sport and leisure activities. Effective programmes intentionally give
priority to development objectives and are carefully designed to be
inclusive.
Effective Sport for Development and
Peace programmes combine sport and play with other non-sport components
to enhance their effectiveness. Such programmes embody the best values
of sport while upholding the quality and integrity of the sport
experience. They are delivered in an integrated manner with other local,
regional and national development and peace initiatives so that they
are mutually reinforcing. Programmes seek to empower participants and
communities by engaging them in the design and delivery of activities,
building local capacity, adhering to generally accepted principles of
transparency and accountability, and pursuing sustainability through
collaboration, partnerships and coordinated action.
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| Peace and Sport |
