In 2009, the Sport and Child & Youth Development Working Group was the first Thematic Working Group of the Sport for Development and Peace International Working Group (SDP IWG) to be activated. It is currently chaired by the United Kingdom and co-chaired by Ghana.

The Thematic Working Group focuses on three strategic areas of priority outlined in the Action Plan:¹

• Child Protection in Sport;
• Sport to Strengthen Child and Youth Education;
• Sport to Enhance Transferable Skills and Employment Opportunities;

These three strategic priority areas and the associated recommendations may be challenging for some governments to pursue due to a scarcity of resources and also due to the jurisdictional division of responsibilities with provincial/state, local governments for education and other matters. It is assumed that governments will seek partnerships wherever possible to leverage the resources necessary to advance the objectives cited below. It is also assumed that, where governments do not have direct jurisdiction, they may use their convening power, shared-cost partnerships, and other forms of influence to promote positive action by other levels of government.

Objectives

Working together with Members (Member State representatives) and Observers (experts, NGOs etc), the Sport and Child & Youth Development Thematic Working Group aims to meet the following objectives:
 

1. Utilise available resources to identify issues and best practice approaches within the Sport and Child & Youth Development Working Group thematic;
2. Provide a forum for governments to benefit from each other’s experience and share best practices with regard to sport and child & youth development;
3. Support the implementation of the recommendations with regard to sport and child & youth development contained in the report “Harnessing the Power of Sport for Development and Peace: Recommendations to Governments”.
4. Sustain momentum with regard to government awareness and take-up in sport and child & youth development policy and programmes.

¹ Based on Policy Recommendations contained in: Sport for Development and Peace International Working Group “Harnessing the Power of Sport for Development and Peace: Recommendations to Governments”, 2008, pp. 109-117.