The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are a set of eight internationally set targets that aim to eradicate global poverty by 2015. While impressive gains have been made, many countries continue to experience uneven or inadequate progress towards these goals.
This is why our Sport for Development and Peace programmes are so vital. Sport represents a significant source of potential for enhancing and even accelerating achievement of the MDGs.
Right To Play and the Millennium Development Goals
 |
Right To Play programmes help to foster the social capital needed to break the cycle of poverty by:
• Providing opportunities for children and youth to develop transferable life skills and increase self-esteem, self-confidence and social skills, leading toincreased employability
• Engaging youth in meaningful activities to develop a sense of efficacy, pride and confidence and to receive practical leadership experience through developing their own community event or initiative
•Creating an environment for children to plan, lead and monitor activities and take responsibility over decision-making in their own lives
• Bringing individuals together through sport and play events to rally community interest and create shared interests
• Building the capacity of not only of our own staff and volunteers but also of our local partners
• Encouraging participants to articulate and reflect on their learning, connect it to what they already know, and apply it in their lives outside play and sport |
 |
Right To Play’s programmes enhance the achievement of primary education by:
• Increasing readiness and access to primary schools
• Increasing a sense of belonging and well-being through inclusive programming resulting in higher school retention rates
• Engaging young children in enjoyable sport and play based learning which motivates them to attend school and discourages them from dropping out
• Adapting programmes to school settings to assist children in the development of literacy, numeracy and other academic areas
• Providing a positive and safe environment for children to learn
• Contributing to the early stages of brain and language development through early child play games and activities
|
 |
Right To Play programmes promote gender equality and empowerment of girls and women by:
• Training coaches and leaders to break down traditional gender barriers and to tackle stigma and discrimination
• Promoting the full inclusion of girls and women and increasing the recognition of the value of girls’ abilities
• Providing girls with safe spaces and a fun and joyful outlet to socialise with their peers and develop social networks outside the home
• Helping girls and women to gain valuable life skills such as leadership, teamwork and self-esteem, thereby improving their confidence and ability to make decisions in their own lives
• Using trained female coaches, teachers and athletes to serve as positive role-models for participants, thereby motivating them to set goals for their future |
 |
Right To Play programmes can indirectly contribute to reduced child mortality rates by:
• Engaging, empowering and educating community members, particularly girls and young women, using a variety of sport-based initiatives to promote the importance of physical activity to health and well-being
• Communicating key messages about issues central to health promotion and disease prevention
|
 |
Right To Play programmes can indirectly contribute to improved maternal health rates by:
• Engaging, empowering and educating community members, particularly girls and young women, using a variety of sport-based initiatives to promote the importance of physical activity to health and well-being
• Communicating key messages about issues central to health promotion and disease prevention
|
 |
Right To Play effectively combats HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases by:
• Using contextually-appropriate games and activities to teach about infectious diseases such as malaria, HIV and AIDS, TB, measles, and diarrheal diseases
• Equipping communities with the skills they need to develop new attitudes and adopt healthy lifestyle choices, thus fostering their health and well-being
• Creating specially-designed activities that both promote basic hygiene and good nutrition and provide strategies to avoid and treat illness and disease
• Raising awareness about the risks associated with HIV and reducing stigma and discrimination by facilitating the inclusion of people living with HIV and AIDS in communities |
 |
Right To Play indirectly contributes to environmental sustainability by:
• Conducting environmental scans when piloting new projects to ensure our work does do not have adverse effects on the environments in which we operate
• Encouraging the preservation of green space in urban and rural centres in order to implement our programming |
 |
Right To Play contributes to the development of global partnerships for development by:
• Working in partnership with governments (particularly government ministries), local leaders, and community-based organisations in order to coordinate efforts and reach joint objectives
• Consulting with key stakeholders and community members to ensure that our programmes are locally driven and relevant to expressed community needs
• Facilitating integrated responses and action towards SDP. For example, Right To Play acted as Secretariat to the Sport for Development and Peace International Working Group (SDP IWG) - a high level policy initiative that mobilised 59 governments and numerous UN agencies and sport federations |