Member's NewsNo.52
January 2008
 
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The Accra Call for Action on Sport for Development and Peace
December 4, 2007
Accra, Ghana
 

On December 4th, 2007 the Executive Committee of the Sport for Development and Peace International Working Group (SDP IWG) held its third meeting in Accra, Ghana. The meeting, co-hosted and chaired by the Minister of State for Education, Science and Sport, Ghana brought together ministers of youth and sport, and their representatives, from 43 nations to discuss ways to harness the power of sport to advance national and international development goals. Ministers were joined by representatives from the United Nations Development Program, UN-Habitat, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and the Office of the UN Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace, as well as some inter-governmental bodies (African Union, European Commission, Supreme Council of Sport for Africa) and non-governmental organizations.
Ministers discussed key policy recommendations aimed at helping national governments to integrate sport into their national and international development frameworks and policies, and discussed ways to accelerate inter-governmental outreach and engagement in the lead-up to the release of the SDP IWG’s Final Report at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games. Ministers also considered how best to leverage the Games as a platform for Sport for Development and Peace and how to sustain the growing global momentum in favour of Sport for Development and Peace following the completion of the SDP IWG’s mandate in 2008.
During its discussions, the SDP IWG:
  • Recognized sport’s potential to contribute to attaining the Millennium Development Goals and related development objectives in the areas of: child & youth development and education; health; the inclusion and wellbeing of people with disabilities; gender equity and the empowerment of women and girls; and conflict prevention and peace-building ;
  • Committed to continue promoting sport as a tool for development and peace at regional inter-governmental fora and encouraging the participation of new governments in the final meeting of the SDP IWG Executive Committee and the launch of its final report in Beijing, China ;
  • Acknowledged the generous support of five funders of the SDP IWG: the Governments of Canada, Norway, Switzerland and Austria, and Right To Play;
  • Expressed its appreciation to UNDP for its critical role in chairing the SDP IWG from its inception;
  • Commended the excellent work of international humanitarian organization
    Right To Play, Secretariat to the SDP IWG; and

  • Thanked the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee for their generous
    agreement to co-host the final meeting of the SDP IWG and the launch of
    its final report on August 7th, 2008.
On the basis of its deliberations, the SDP IWG recommended that governments
worldwide:
  • Include the use of sport for development and peace goals in their national sport policies;
  • Integrate Sport for Development and Peace into their international assistance and national development frameworks and strategies – in particular Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers – drawing on the expertise and support of governments that have already done so;
  • Make appropriate budget allocations and financial investments, including in human capacity-building, infrastructure and equipment, to enable sport to fulfill its development and peace potential;
  • Raise awareness of this potential within their governments, with other government, multilateral and NGO development stakeholders, as well as the general public and engage the media to assist in this process;
  • Instil sport and physical activity as a lifelong habit by ensuring that all children have access to quality physical education in all primary and secondary school curricula;
  • Develop partnerships across government departments and with international funding bodies, sport federations, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, and local governments for the purpose of leveraging resources, accessing expertise, and mobilizing participation in Sport for Development and Peace initiatives;
  • Recognize the importance of sport as a right and give particular attention to ensuring the full inclusion of girls and women, people with disabilities, children and youth, and other socially excluded groups in sport, and to mobilizing sport for the full inclusion of these groups in society;
  • Include robust monitoring and evaluation components in all Sport for Development and Peace initiatives; and
  • Ensure these initiatives draw on the full range of physical activities, sports and games (traditional and non-traditional) as a means of encouraging participation, and are equally accessible in rural and urban areas.
In order to sustain global momentum in support of Sport for Development and Peace, the SDP IWG:
  • Reiterated the importance of its final report to advancing international efforts to harness the power of sport to advance national and global development and peace goals;
  • Agreed to the ongoing need for a coordinating forum to support knowledge exchange and capacity-building and Sport for Development and Peace policy implementation following the completion of the original SDP IWG mandate;
  • Requested Right To Play to examine the feasibility and develop a strategy for extending the SDP IWG mandate for 2008 – 2010;
  • Urged United Nations agencies, programs and funds to fully recognize, and provide tangible support to countries wishing to harness, the peace and development potential of sport;
  • Recognized the need for the work of the SDP IWG to continue in the longterm within the UN system up to 2015 (MDGs); and
  • Discussed the need for an international framework on Sport for Development and Peace to coordinate outreach and advocacy; mobilize additional resources; foster new programs and initiatives; and measure progress against universal targets, timelines and milestones for the global use of sport for development and peace.
The following governments were present at the meeting:

Angola
Austria
Azerbaijan
Benin
Burundi
Canada
Cape Verde
Chad
China
Colombia
Costa Rica
El Salvador
Ethiopia
Ghana
Guatemala
India
Jordan
Kenya
Lebanon
Malawi
Mali
Malaysia
Namibia
Netherlands
Nigeria
Norway
Pakistan
Palau
Palestinian
National
Authority
Papua New
Guinea
Peru
Rwanda
Sierra Leone
Spain
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Switzerland
Tanzania
Uganda
United
Kingdom
Zambia
Zimbabwe



Contact
United Nations Office at Geneva
Office of the Special Adviser to the Secretary General
Geneva, Switzerland
Email: lwillig@unog.ch





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