April 6 is The International Day of Sport for Development and Peace. This year’s theme is “Securing a Sustainable and Peaceful Future for All: The Contribution of Sport.” The UN sees this as “an opportunity for the Day’s celebrations to promote the use of sport as a tool to advance human rights and sustainable development.”
There are now many that support this goal. Some of them can be found at sportdev.org, for example.
The organization Sportanddev acts as a facilitator for the community on the day. It provides some context, shares advice on organizing a campaign, and enables highlighting activities. Companies can also turn to the initiative.
Some social initiatives from the world of sport are taking the opportunity to use The International Day of Sport for Development and Peace to draw further attention to the unifying power of sport:
- For example, 30 members of the Sport for Social Change Network (REMS) in Brazil will promote free physical and sporting activities around the country. The organization, also a partner of Nike, expects that more than 4,000 people in 19 cities will participate in “Sport in the street” programs.
- The German Society for International Cooperation (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) demonstrates how social development can be promoted through sport. For example, in the Albanian region of Fier and in Sudan. Among other things, sport is used to strengthen the participation of young people in society.
- SOS Children’s Villages International is using this day to demonstrate that sport has the power to break down barriers and promote cooperation and team spirit.
- The IOC, in its capacity of Permanent Observer to the UN, underlines this year on the occasion of Sports Day that sport has the ability to build bridges and mutual understanding. In one contribution, reference is made to the war in Ukraine. However, a classification or measures that the IOC derives from this are not mentioned.
The International Day of Sport for Development and Peace has been celebrated since 2014. “Due to its vast reach, unparalleled popularity and foundation of positive values, sport is ideally positioned to contribute towards the United Nations’ objectives for development and peace,” the UN writes on its homepage.
