Sport and the MDGs

Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. Providing develop­ment opportunities will help fight poverty. The sport industry, as well as the organization of large sporting events, creates opportunities for employ­ment. Sport provides life skills essential for a productive life in society. The opportunity to acquire such skills is often more limited for women, making their access to sport of critical importance.

Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education. Sport and physical edu­cation are an essential element of quality education. They promote posi­tive values and skills that have an immediate and lasting impact on young people. Sport activities and physical education generally make school more attractive and improve attendance.

Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women. Increas­ing access for women and girls to physical education and sport helps build confidence and promotes stronger social integration. Involving girls in sport activities alongside boys can help overcome prejudice that often contributes to social vulnerability of women and girls.

Goals 4 and 5: Reduce child mortality and improve maternal health. Sport can be an effective means to provide women with a healthy lifestyle as well as to convey important messages on a wide range of health issues.

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. Sport can help engage otherwise difficult-to-reach populations and provide positive role models delivering prevention messages. The most vulnerable popula­tions, including women and girls, are highly responsive to sport-targeted pro­grammes. Sport can also effectively assist in overcoming prejudice, stigma and discrimination.

Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability. Sport is ideal for raising awareness about the need to preserve the environment. The interdepen-dency between the regular practice of outdoor sports and the protection of the environment is clear.

Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development. Sport offers diverse opportunities for innovative partnerships for development and can be used as a tool to build and foster partnerships between developed and developing nations to work towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

Source: Adapted from International Year of Sport and Physical Education (2005). A year of sports. Available from http://www.un.org/sport2005/a_year/ mill_goals.html

 

be based on the "sport for all" model, ensuring that all groups are given the opportunity to participate, particularly those who gain additional benefits, such as women, persons with disabili­ties and young people.¹⁹

In 2004, the General Assembly adopted resolution 58/5, "Sport as a means to promote education, health, development and peace", which invited Governments, the United Nations, the specialized agencies, where appro­priate, and sport-related institutions to work collectively so that sport and physical education could present opportunities for solidarity and coop­eration, in order to promote a culture of peace and social and gender equal­ity and to advocate dialogue and har­mony. It recognized the power of sport to contribute to human development and proclaimed the year 2005 as the International Year of Sport and Physical Education.

The International Year aimed to facilitate better knowledge-sharing among different key stakeholders, raise awareness and create the right condi­tions for the implementation of more sport-based human development pro­grammes. It provided a unique oppor­tunity to use the power of sport to mo­bilize individuals, organizations and local communities, drawing together diverse groups in a positive and supportive environment. During the International Year, over 100 international initiatives and thousands of local projects were undertaken by Governments, the United Nations system, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector. An unprecedented amount of media attention was accorded to the issue of sport and physical educa­tion. The notion of "sport for all" was emphasized and the principle of non-discrimination was upheld as a funda­mental human right.

In 2006, Secretary-General Kofi Annan presented the United Nations Action Plan on Sport for Development and Peace, which was included in his report on "Sport for Development and Peace: the way forward".²⁰ The

action plan serves as an initial road map for a three-year period to expand and strengthen partnerships, sport for development and peace programmes and projects, as well as advocacy and communications activities. The plan calls for the development of a global framework to strengthen a common vision, define priorities and further raise awareness to promote and mainstream easily replicable sport for development and peace policies. It also calls for pro­moting innovative funding mechanisms and voluntary arrangements, including the engagement of sport organizations, civil society, athletes and the private sector.