In the Spotlight
BENEFITS OF SPORT FOR DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE
Sport has many potential development and peace applications. The following sections outline some of the key benefits that sport offers in the development and peace building context. These were drawn from the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Sport fro Development and Peace report, Sport for Development and Peace: Towards Achieving the Millennium Development Goals,[1] and also from sport for development and peace strategy documents of diverse national governments.
INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT
Sport is a powerful means of fostering healthy child and youth development and offers proven physical and psycho-social benefits. Through fun and play, sport improves children’s physical health and motor skills, but also teaches them basic social skills such as teamwork, to reach a common goal, fairness, dealing with binding rules, organizational skills, structured use of leisure time and managing strong emotions in a constructive manner. It also teaches self-discipline and respect for others and, while allowing children to understand their physical limitations, encourages them to work to the best of their abilities.
Many psychologists also believe in the positive influence of unstructured play on child development, emphasizing that children's spontaneous self-generated play has tremendous potential to enhance brain development and to increase a child’s intelligence and academic ability.[2] There is also evidence linking regular physical activity and play to improved performance in the classroom.[3]
HEALTH PROMOTION AND DISEASE PREVENTION
By providing regular opportunities for physical activity that enhance overall physical fitness and help to alleviate stress, sport contributes enormously to improving the physical health and overall well-being of participants. Sport and sport education can also promote more conscious care of one’s own body and offer positive role models in this respect. This critical dimension of properly designed sport programs with a health education component can help reduce the vulnerability of young people to substance abuse, pre-mature, unprotected or unwanted sexual activity and the transmission of infectious disease through these activities.
PROMOTION OF GENDER EQUALITY
Gender inequality can often impede development by diminishing the status of girls and women, denying them equal schooling opportunities, fostering tolerance of gender-based violence, and contributing to heightened rates of HIV/AIDS among this population. Sport can have a profound effect on community gender norms, breaking down gender stereotypes, raising questions about prevailing socio-cultural expectations of girls and women, and providing opportunities to discuss gender roles. When properly and sensitively implemented, sport-based projects can be effective in reducing gender barriers, providing structured social opportunities for girls and women to increase their social contacts and participation in public life, and offering an entry point for social development and the transformation of gender norms. Projects that actively involve women and girls in sport activities empower them with negotiation skills, improve self-esteem and, when they engage women as volunteer coaches, mobilize them as community leaders and role models.
A UNICEF-supported project in Barbulesti, a predominantly Roma community in Romania, uses sport to encourage girls to stay in school and to increase their status in the community. Trained by a professional physical education teacher, children are selected to play on two soccer teams, based on their attendance and performance in school. According to UNICEF, “since the program began, they [the children] have been more motivated to attend and do well in school. After only one year, school performance and attendance among children attending the program, including girls, has significantly improved. Dropping out is no longer an option.”[4]
SOCIAL INTEGRATION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL CAPITAL
Sport can also contribute to enhanced integration of marginalized groups in society. In a development context, these may be people with a disability, street children, out-of-school and unemployed youth, former child combatants, members of ethnic minority groups, migrants, refugees, and people living with HIV and AIDS.
Sport can promote identity and solidarity within communities and increase the readiness of individuals to become involved in their community.[5] This was demonstrated by a project on the use of sport and education in the social inclusion of asylum seekers and refugees in the UK. A policy and practice evaluation of the project concluded that active engagement in sport provided benefits at the individual and societal level.[6] By bringing together disparate ethnic and political groups from the community to participate in a soccer match, researchers were able to facilitate social integration and the formation of community identity, contributing to social and psychological gains among both the host communities and the refugee and asylum seeker groups. Sport was also shown to contribute significantly to fostering informal ties between people from both groups and helped them to establish links to official institutions – two key factors in building social capital.
At its best, sport is an arena for learning and practicing democratic cooperation. Voluntary work and participation in organizations provides opportunities to learn and gain experience as an active citizen and contributing community member.[7] A recent report from the Conference Board of Canada echoed this view, concluding that “sport brings many benefits to communities. Most respondents feel that sport participation strongly encourages individuals from different backgrounds to work and play together in a positive way. It gives individuals of all ages good opportunities to be actively involved in their communities, which helps them learn positive lessons about responsibility and respect for others, and gives them the chance to give back to their communities.”[8]
This aspect of sport as a civic training ground is an important means of building civil society in regions affected by conflict. The establishment of community sport organizations and the participation of community volunteers strengthens communities by providing a civic infrastructure and social ties that build peace and stability.[9]
PEACE BUILDING AND CONFLICT PREVENTION AND RESOLUTION
Many of the values associated with sport are relevant to conflict prevention and resolution and to peace building. Well-organized activities teach participants respect for each other, honesty, empathy, the importance of having rules, and effective communication and cooperation skills.[10] These skills and values are all essential to both resolving conflict and preventing it from arising in the first place.
Sport can also serve as a positive means of interaction between communities, people and cultures, contributing to the maintenance of a dialogue between parties in open or latent conflict.[11] In conflict or post-conflict situations, sport can help to create a structured, constructive outlet for the people affected that is oriented toward peaceful resolution of aggression and tensions.[12]
The tradition of Olympic Truce, the longest lasting peace accord in history, demonstrates the international potential of sport for peace. Since 1992, through its resolution process, the UN General Assembly calls upon all Member States every two years to express their resolve for peaceful competition unmarred by violent conflict. This truce has now been extended to the Paralympic games as well.
POST-DISASTER/TRAUMA RELIEF AND NORMALIZATION OF LIFE
In regions affected by natural disasters or war, where trauma is widespread, sport can be a highly effective means of helping to normalize life. Through regular scheduled activity, children and adults can begin to regain a sense of security and normalcy and enjoy periods of respite from the often overwhelming challenge of reconstruction. Sport and play have proven to be extremely therapeutic in helping children to overcome trauma.[13] Recognizing this, UNICEF has developed a kit of materials for children displaced by war and natural disaster, enabling them to participate in team sports in a supportive, non-competitive, environment under the guidance of a teacher or trained volunteer.[14]
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Sport can contribute to economic development through diverse avenues. By promoting health, well-being and the prevention of disease, it can increase the productivity of individuals and the overall labour force and reduce the loss of individual and family earnings due to illness. This in turn reduces the burden on health care and welfare systems. Sport can also offer community members learning and skill development opportunities that increase their employability and potential earnings. Finally, sport, the manufacture of sport equipment, and sport events can create direct and indirect employment and business opportunities that contribute to overall economic growth.
COMMUNICATION AND SOCIAL MOBILIZATION
Sport’s immense contribution to individual development makes it a logical partner to advance development objectives at the community level. It is also at the community level where the development potential of sport becomes most visible. Sport can bridge divides between generations – engaging children and adults alike, facilitate social inclusion, and contribute to building human and social capital. Its tremendous popularity and attractiveness make it an ideal social mobilization vehicle – both for sport events themselves but also for sport events linked to other development activities and objectives.[15] The unparalleled reach and popularity of sport makes it ideally suited to carrying critical and often sensitive social, health, and peace messages. This carrying power has been used very effectively, particularly in relation to HIV/AIDS prevention and for vaccination campaigns.
[1] United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Sport for Development and Peace (2003) Sport for Development and Peace: Towards Achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Available online at: http://www.un.org/themes/sport/reportE.pdf
[2]Citing J. Healy, a Colorado-based psychologist, K. MacPherson, Development Experts Say Children Suffer due to Lack of Unstructurized Fun, Post-Gazette, October 1, 2002. Online: http://www.post-gazette.com/lifestyle/20021001childsplay1001fnp3.asp
[3] D. Del Busto, Children Need Physical Education and Play, The Sport Supplement, 13 (3) (Summer 2005), online: The Sport Supplement http://www.thesportjournal.org/sport-supplement.
[4] UNICEF Country Offices Use of Sports in Country Programming, Summary of Examples, UNICEF, 2004.
[5] Sport for Development and Peace. Page 15
[6] M. Amara, D. Aquilina, E. At, et al, The Roles of Sport and Education in the Social Inclusion of Asylm Seekers and Refugees : An Evaluation of Policy and Practice in the UK, Institute of Sport and Leisure Policy Loughborough University, University of Stirling, (2004), 70.
[7] Strategy for Norway’s Culture and Sports Cooperation with Countries in the South. Page 39
[8] Strengthening Canada: The Socio-Economic Benefits of Sport Participation in Canada. The Conference Board of Canada (2005), p. iii.
[9] Strategy for Norway’s Culture and Sports Cooperation with Countries in the South. Page 39
[10] Strategy for Norway’s Culture and Sports Cooperation with Countries in the South. Page 39
[11]. Sport for Development and Peace. Page 4.
[12] Ibid.
[13] C. Colliard, B. Hanley, “Overcoming Trauma through Sport”, Input Paper for the Second Magglingen Conference on International Development through Sport (2005), online: http://www.sportanddev.org/data/htmleditor/file/Input%20Papers/Overcoming%20Trauma%20Through%20Sport.pdf
[14] This kit It includes balls for several types of games, colored tunics for different teams, chalk and a measuring tape for marking play areas and a whistle and scoring slate. UNICEF, online: http://www.unicef.org/supply/index_cpe_education.html
[15] Sport for Development and Peace. Page 15.
