Successful Sport for Development and Peace programmes work to realise the rights of all members of society to participate in sport and leisure activities.  Effective programmes intentionally give priority to development objectives and are carefully designed to be inclusive. These programmes embody the best values of sport while upholding the quality and integrity of the sport experience.

Sport’s Unique Value as a Tool for Development and Peace

The concept of Sport for Development and Peace is rooted in the recognition that sport possesses unique attributes that enable it to contribute to development and peace processes. These attributes include:

·       Universal popularity – transcending of national, cultural, socio-economic and political boundaries, when done right, sport is enjoyable for participants and spectators alike and can be invoked in virtually any community in the world.

·       Capacity as a powerful global communications platform – because sport events offer the capacity to reach vast numbers of people, they are effective platforms for public education and social mobilisation.

·       Ability to connect – sport is an inherently social process bringing together players, teams, coaches, volunteers and spectators.

·       Cross-cutting nature – sport can be used to address a broad range of social and economic challenges.

·       Potential to empower, motivate and inspire – sport has the natural ability to draw on, develop, and showcase individual strengths and capacities.

Strong Sport for Development and Peace programmes combine sport and play with other non-sport components to enhance their effectiveness. They are delivered in an integrated manner with other local, regional and national development and peace initiatives so that they are mutually reinforcing. Programmes seek to empower participants and communities by engaging them in the design and delivery of activities, building local capacity, adhering to generally accepted principles of transparency and accountability, and pursuing sustainability through collaboration, partnerships and co-ordinated action.

Sport alone, however, cannot ensure peace or solve complex social problems. Instead, sport should be positioned as a highly effective tool in a broader toolkit of development practices, and should be applied in a holistic and integrated manner with other interventions and programmes to achieve optimal results.