Learning to Contribute to A Legacy

ICSSPE
11/12/2011 08:30

by Detlef Dumon, reporting from the Western Cape

 

On an international level, Sport and development has grown and become much more visible over the past years.

 

Researchers and practitioners try to strengthen the social aspect of sport and physical activity and convince those who are not aware of the benefits of physical movement, activity and play to give this phenomenon more attention. There is reason to be proud of what has been achieved by individuals, in small local or in growing global networks.

 

On the other hand, in the peace working group at the 2nd International Sport and Development Conference from1-3 December, 2011, at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa, Oscar Mwaanga from Southhampton Solent University, quoted Jeremy Sachs: “The idea of development stands like a ruin in the intellectual landscape. Delusion and disappointment, failure and crime have been the steady companions of development…”

 

There was awareness among the participants that a critical approach to the field of sport and development is needed. But the participants from over 30 countries strongly demonstrated their ambition to learn from each other and share ideas, thoughts and concerns. “We are surrounded by nuclear powers, and sport per se is not good, but, “as UN Special Adviser Wilfried Lemke put it, “encounters between people through sport have the capacity to contribute to better understanding and respect”.

 

Despite all the knowledge, there is need for more research, including longitudinal studies although lots of research based knowledge already proofs that physical education, sport and physical activity contribute to development across the entire lifespan of every individual.

 

Research is being undertaken all over the world, and many actors in the area of sport for development and peace see themselves as practitioners and researchers. This apparently influences the methodology of research: Methods introduced during the peace working group, were literature review, internet research, observations, various forms of interviews, content and narrative analysis, analysis of official documents, and others.

 

A mixed method approach and especially the richness of qualitative quotes are a tremendous challenge for serious researchers. Sarah Hillyer and Meeghan Zahorsky from Georgetown University, USA, put it this way: “We wish to move from initial findings to deeper knowledge We need to do so in order to legitimise our work and to leave a blue print.”

 

Apart from developing a useful research methodology networking was a strong motivations for participants to attend this event and the following Beyond Sport Conference in Cape Town which started 5 December, 2011. When it comes to training potential leaders, Wilfried Lemke recommended to include teaching of various communication skills, supported by Donny Jurgens, City of Cape Town, who went as far as saying: “It is not about what we know but who we know.”

 

Nevertheless, monitoring and evaluation are very central for research in this thematic area. And sustainability and legacy have turned to buzz words and are in danger to lose part of their denotation by being overused and turned into an empty shell. The question remains how can legacy be measured beyond the construction of infrastructure like stadiums, roads, and airports.

 

Young and old experts need measurable proof to increase the support for their work. And they want to define their position in between the two extreme positions, formulated by the so called “evangelist” and the sceptical voices, often expressed by critical sociologists that show that sport itself is about beating the component. Former silver medallist Elena Meyer however, described that she looked at her strongest competitor as a role model and it is known from martial arts that athletes regard their opponent with high respect. Additionally Linda Johnston, Kennesaw State University, USA, gave examples from experimental learning where athletes learnt instead of wining against someone to test their skills. Could research in psychology, biochemistry and physiology proof that seeing a competitor not as someone that has to be beaten would not necessarily weaken the capacity to compete?

 

These questions cannot be answered by one scientific discipline, rather there is a need for multi-disciplinary cooperation by psychologists, sociologists, educators and coaches, economists and others.

 

However, results received in one project may not be achieved in other regions or countries because the systems in which they are implemented differ. In some countries there is public support on community level or nation-wide programmes are implemented by the government whereas in other countries development projects are realised by national sport federations. Clever Chikwanda, UWC, analysed that cooperation between federations and administration should be improved at the Western Cape.

 

A comprehensive training for leaders is necessary, and apart from social skills, knowledge about a specific sport and coaching, communication, leadership and many other skills are needed.

 

It was stressed in several contributions that projects need to focus on local needs and interests, not on ideas and motivations from outside. This is an issue, because, as Linda Johnston said, many funders are foreign governments. As a consequence communities question the legacy of international help and some tend to prefer local money as the chances for a continuous support seem to be higher.

 

Through her more than 20 years of experience in this field, Marion Keim urged the audience that local communities are to be actively included in the initial planning. Oscar Mwaanga argued that the society still lives in a postcolonial period and that globally acknowledged social scientists still see Sub-Saharan Africa as a tabula rasa. Northern “experts” would ignore the cultural philosophy of Zambians which stresses an inclusive approach.

 

For the national level, Tony Karbo from the University for Peace in Ethiopia saw a main challenge in bringing the different societal levels together, and former Paralympic athlete Eli Wolf, Brown University, USA, added that the globally approved human rights convention guarantees equal rights for everybody. And Catherine Ford from Trinidad and Tobago reminded the audience that sport and physical education have been recognised as means to reach the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

 

Ford and others recommended strengthening existing networks to reach an alignment of minds in order to get a step closer to these goals.