Sport and Development - Could sport be a new vector for development?
Exploring innovative approaches to development has always been at the heart of the MEDays project. This year, in the wake of the Beijing 2008 Olympics and South-African 2010 World Cup, and with an eye on the upcoming Brazil 2014 and Rio 2016 events, the time was ripe to explore whether sports could play a greater role in the development project.
Golda El Khoury, Chief of the UNESCO Section for Youth, Sport and Physical Education
“If we are looking at a developmental path: sport (…) hasn’t shown with evidence (…) its real benefit to a country and its population.”
Poul Hansen, Chief of Office, Office of the Special Advisor to the Secretary General of the United Nations for Sports, Development and Peace
“We need role models. We cannot only have elite sports. What is very important is that the aspirations of young people in sports programs should not be to end up like Drogba or Zidane. Through these sports programs, there should be understanding and inclusion of educational programs so they aspire to become doctors, teachers (…).”
Moncef Belkhayat, Minister for Youth and Sports of the Kingdom of Morocco
“Sport is increasingly becoming an important vector of social development."
Kabando wa Kabando, Vice–Minister of Youth and Sport of Kenya
“(In Kenya), sport, culture and talent promotion have become a national obligation.”
François Alla Yao, Director for Sports, Secretariat General, CONFEJES
“In our countries (i.e. the South), the educational dimension of sport is insufficiently exploited. The international sport movement has only exploited its monetary dimension. Governments should step in to fill the void.”
Developmental uncertainty
The momentum around the organisation of sports-events has brought about an assumption that they greatly benefit the host country’s developmental trajectory. Yet, according to UNESCO expert Golda El Khoury, the development path of mega-event has still to be evidenced.
Most benefits only reach out in the short term; the frequently quoted “employment impact” is short-lived and benefits only low skilled people. Hosting the event leads to a general price rise movement that affects the most disadvantaged populations first. Moreover, it still needs to be shown that investments do not create a “crowding out” effect, pulling money from some sectors towards the event.
Emphasis has been put on the necessity to create a catalogue of “Key Principles” that bids should cover. A priority should be for international sports associations like the FIFA and IOC to endorse them. Central among them should be a concern about country development, bid sustainability and alignment with a national development plan.
Greater role for education and values
The 1978 UNESCO charter for physical education at school had declared sports to be a “fundamental right for all”. And yet, the little place left to sport in Southern education projects reflects the doubts in sport’s educational benefits.
Loyalty, generosity, awareness to others, non-violence and self-control, are values that are needed throughout society, and that lie at the very heart of the practice of sport.
Youth constitutes an important percentage of the South’s population. More often than not, the young generation is perceived more as a hindrance to development than an asset. Sports could be efficiently used to reorient and organise them, to make them a proactive actor of their own development. The school system, which sees through the greater part of the young generation, offers the most promising relay for sport throughout society.
Local Approach
If we are serious about making sports an integral part of social development, this has to start at the bottom, within the local communities. Morocco’s current efforts at creating local “community sport centres” are part of this effort. The most significant accomplishment is already transparent in enrolment numbers: 25% of users are women, who frequent a sports centre on daily basis for the first time in their life. Making an impact on people’s daily life is probably the most immediate, operational, and useful application of sports in a social development project.
