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SPORT FOR DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE THE UN SYSTEM IN ACTION

2011

Geneva, Switzerland. On 12 May 2011, the second Plenary Session of the SDP IWG took place at the UN Office in Geneva.

2010

Brussels, Belgium. On 8 December 2010, the European Members and Observers of the SDP IWG met at the European Parliament in Brussels (press release available here).

 

Geneva, Switzerland. On 5 May 2010, the inaugural Plenary Session of the newly constituted SDP IWG took place at the UN Office at Geneva (press release available here).  


2008

Beijing, China. The SDP IWG held the 4th and final meeting of the Executive Committee on 7 August 2008 in Beijing, one day prior to the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympic Games. The meeting succeeded in bringing together 38 governments to endorse and approve Harnessing the Power of Sport for Development and Peace: Recommendations to Governments, the final report of the SDP IWG’s four-year initiative.

The meeting was chaired by Mr. Wilfried Lemke, Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace and included a formal address by Honourable Liu Peng, Executive President of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, Minister of the General Administration of Sports, and President of the Chinese Olympic Committee, People’s Republic of China. The meeting brought together ministers of youth and sport, and their representatives, from 38 nations to discuss ways to harness the power of sport to advance national and international development goals. Ministers were joined by representatives from the UN system (including ILO, UN-Habitat, UNESCO and UNICEF), as well as national and international civil society actors.

 

Outcome document: Beijing Declaration on Sport for Development and Peace.


2007

Accra, Ghana. The SDP IWG held its third Ministerial Meeting on 4 December 2007 in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports of the Government of Ghana. The meeting, which brought together 42 Governments and more than 20 Ministers from Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas, concluded with the recommendation for a second SDP IWG mandate following the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.


The government of Ghana embraces the use of sport to achieve development and peace objectives and was one of the first countries to include sport as a tool for development in its Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. As a leader in Sport for Development and Peace, the Government of Ghana is well-placed to promote the importance of sport and play programmes which contribute to holistic development.


 Outcome document: The Accra Call for Action on Sport for Development and Peace.


2006

Torino, Italy. On 10 March 2006, the SDP IWG Executive Committee met in Torino, Italy to present and review the draft Preliminary Report  “Sport for Development: From Practice to Policy” and to outline challenges and opportunities for Sport for Development and Peace at the national level, from donor and recipient country perspectives. The meeting included high-level representatives from 16 countries, UNDP, UNESCO and the UN Office of Sport for Development and Peace as well as several international non-governmental organizations and sport federations. The meeting was co-hosted by the International Paralympic Committee and chaired by UNDP.

The meeting generated in-depth discussions of the key findings of the draft Preliminary Report, with a special focus on the role of the national governments and the Executive Committee members in moving Sport for Development and Peace forward on the international and national agendas.

 

Summary outcome from the Executive Committee Meeting, 10 March 2006, Torino, Italy - see pages 4-5 from the Sport for Development and Peace International Working Group: From Practice to Policy.


2005

New York, USA. Conceived at the 2004 Athens Roundtable Forum “Harnessing the Power of Sport for Development and Peace”, the official launch and first meeting of the SDP IWG took place on 24 May 2005 in New York. Ministers of Sport, Development and Youth from 15 countries, heads of key UN agencies, together with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) met to discuss the international mobilization of sport to achieve development and peace, with a particular focus on realizing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Led by the Minister of State for Sport, Canada joined the governments of Switzerland and Norway in playing a driving role in this initiative, providing critical funding, policy input and political leadership.
As a result of the meeting, the interim Executive Committee and interim Bureau were established, the structure of the SDP IWG (2004-2008) was confirmed, and the SDP IWG was officially launched.
Some of the general outcomes of the meeting included the recognition of the development potential of sport, and the importance of including sport as a tool for development and peace in the national Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers and national development frameworks.

 

Outcome Document: SDP IWG Report Final


2004

Athens, Greece. On 14 August 2004, during the XXVIII Olympic Games, a Roundtable Forum entitled “Harnessing the Power of Sport for Development and Peace” was held. The Roundtable Forum brought together political leaders and experts in development to showcase the potential of sport in achieving social, economic, health and development goals, thereby initiating the first steps toward the creation of a new policy framework for the use of sport for development and peace by governments around the world. Although getting political leaders together to discuss such important and sensitive issues as HIV/AIDS prevention, peace and conflict resolution can be regarded as an important positive result in itself, the main overall outcome of the Athens Roundtable Forum was the establishment of the Sport for Development and Peace International Working Group (SDP IWG), as a four-year policy initiative to help mainstream sport as a low-cost effective tool for development in national and international programmes and policies. Governments and the UN agencies represented at the Roundtable Forum pledged their support to the SDP IWG, while Right To Play assumed the role of the Secretariat for the initiative. To build on the momentum generated during the Roundtable Forum, the Secretariat was tasked with arranging the first inaugural meeting of the SDP IWG in May 2005.

 

 

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