Feature: Sport and Human Rights
No.48
September 2006
 
  print / save view 

Profile - Sport for Development and Peace
International Working Group

Capitalizing on worldwide momentum being gained by the Sport for Development movement, the Sport for Development and Peace International Working Group (SDP IWG), first envisioned during the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, was officially launched in 2005 as part of the activities under the International Year for Sport and Physical Education (IYSPE 2005). The SDP IWG is working towards the articulation and adoption of policy recommendations to incorporate sport and physical activity into development and foreign assistance strategies and programs. These policy recommendations will be presented at the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing. Right To Play is the SDP IWG Secretariat.
"Many countries do not have national sports initiatives, and those that do often miss the opportunities created when sport and development programs collaborate," said UNDP Assistant Administrator, Mr. Bruce Jenks, Chair of the International Working Group. "With the policy tools it creates, the Sport for Development and Peace International Working Group will make it easier for these countries to set up their own sport programs and reap the development benefits."
The vision for the International Working Group evolved over the course of several years in conjunction with the growing recognition of sport as an important tool for development, health and peace. There is mounting evidence that providing more opportunities for children to play enhances their healthy physical, social and emotional development and builds stronger, more peaceful communities.

Contact:
Anna Alexandrova
SDP IWG
Manager Policy
Right to Play
65 Queen Street West, Thomson Building
Suite 1900, Box 64, Toronto, Ontario
M5H 2M5 CANADA
Phone: +1 416-498-1922
Email: IWGSecretariat@righttoplay.com





http://www.icsspe.org/portal/index.php?w=1&z=5