UNESCO Endorses Berlin Declaration

The 37th UNESCO General Conference held in Paris from 5 to 20 November 2013 has endorsed the Berlin Declaration.

Following the adoption of the Berlin Declaration at the 5th International Conference of Ministers and Senior Officials Responsible for Physical Education and Sport  (MINEPS V) in Berlin in May 2013, the suggestion to revise the International Charter of Physical Education and Sport from 1978 was dealt with at the UNESCO General Conference. It was accordingly decided to issue a report on the desirability of revising the Charter and submitting it to the General Conference at its 38th session in 2015.

At the national level meanwhile, the German coalition partners of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Social Democtratic Parties (SPD) have emphasised the importance of a continued follow-up strategy to MINEPS V in their provisional coalition agreement released in late November. Previously the German Federal Ministry of the Interior had organised four thematic meetings in September 2013 attended by representatives from the federal states, sport organisations, NGOs and sport science in order to discuss the current state of inclusion of persons with a disability, the conditions for girls and women in sport, the sustainability of sport infrastructure and the fight against match fixing and corruption. Furthermore the German federal states have engaged in a process of dealing with the issue of inclusion in sport, with a special focus on inclusion in physical education in the context of the implementation of the UN Charter on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. With regard to girls and women in sport, it has been decided to improve opportunities to have access to leadership positions. And concerning sport events, the idea is to develop a general concept as basis for planning and conducting these in a sustainable way.

As for preserving the integrity of sport, progress is closely linked to the Convention of the Council of Europe (CoE) to combat the manipulation of sport competitions. A draft Convention is currently subject to debate amongst CoE member states. A meaningful outcome, signed by the majority of CoE member states will help further increase the priority of integrity at the national levels and might lead to more cooperation and stronger commitments regarding match-fixing and corruption in sport.

The Berlin Declaration calls for making access to sport a fundamental right for all, promoting investment in physical education and sport programmes and preserving the integrity of sport. MINEPS V, the event leading to the Declaration’s adoption, was coordinated by the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE). It was commended for its extensive stakeholder involvement and was described as a progressive move in international sport collaboration, going beyond mere words. The endorsement at the UNESCO General Conference provides the Berlin Declaration with further political weight and can serve to strengthen the follow-up at the national levels.

Further information can be obtained from

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/physical-e...

By Wiebke Balcke