Sports has been recognized by United Nations 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 United Nations, “Sport as a universal language can be a powerful tool to promote peace, tolerance and understanding by bringing people together across boundaries, cultures and religions. Its intrinsic values such as teamwork, fairness, discipline, respect for the opponent and the rules of the game are understood all over the world and can be harnessed in the advancement of solidarity, social cohesion and peaceful coexistence.”. In recognition of this fact, the UN General Assembly proclaimed April 6 as International Day of Sport for Development and Peace in 2013 via Resolution 67/296. The Resolution called on States, the United Nations system and, in particular, the United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace, relevant international organizations, and international, regional and national sports organizations, civil society, including non-governmental organizations and the private sector, and all other relevant stakeholders to cooperate, observe and raise awareness of the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace.
The day was celebrated by a number of sports organisations across the globe through a multifarious range of activities this year. A few examples are mentioned below.
The integrative potential of sports was once again manifested as the Turkish Olympic Committee (TOC) marked the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace by opening a new sports school for local children and Syrian refugees living in the Kırıkhan district of Hatay City. The new school is part of the TOC’s Support Through Sport Project, which aims to contribute to Syrian children’s physical and social development through greater accessibility to sport and allows them to integrate peacefully into their new communities. Support Through Sport Project has provided hundreds of Syrian refugees living in Turkey with greater access to sport, enabling them to integrate into their new surroundings under a fun and safe environment,” TOC President Uğur Erdener remarked highlighting the significance of the project.
FIH, the governing body of international field hockey, has carried out a spate of activities to mark the significance of IDSPD. One such activity is the supporting the Hockey Dreams Foundation. The Dutch-based charity aims to improve the lives of people in a number of African countries by giving local hockey coaches a chance to build their future around the sport. The stated objectives of the Hockey Dreams Foundation are collaboration, sharing knowledge and experience and creating a better environment where people can thrive. The Foundation is actively engaged in Zambia, Uganda and Malawi. World Rugby, the governing body of international rugby has announced news partners for its Spirit of Rugby program which is a development initiative which recognises World Rugby’s role and the attraction of rugby to organisations wishing to use it to drive sport for good projects, inviting them to submit proposals for collaboration on development projects.
Spirit of Rugby partner programmes are closely aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) and will report progress over the course of the 2019-20 programme. The first edition of the Spirit of Rugby programme offered support to rugby for social development programmes and engaged more than 20,000 participants in over 20 countries.
For the 2019-20 cycle, it is anticipated that the programme’s reach will increase to benefit in excess of 30,000 children and young adults, male and female, across approximately 30 countries globally, including Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia in Africa, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Asia, and Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, England, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Scotland, Serbia and Wales in Europe.
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