The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) have announced a new partnership to promote physical activity in urban environments, underscoring the role of sport as an enabler of sustainable development of cities and the well-being of their residents. The collaboration was announced at the 2023 SDG Summit, which took place in New York on Sept. 18-19.
Based on investments from both organizations, the collaboration will initially focus on four key workstreams:
- Integrating Sport and Physical Activity into cities’ analysis and planning tools,
- Capacity-building of municipal authorities, National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and sporting bodies,
- Investment in urban sports infrastructure refurbishment and programming, and
- Production of guidelines for the integration of sport into urban development policies and resource allocation.
Its implementation will begin in November in five cities across Africa, Latin America and the Asia Pacific, with an initial timeframe of three years.
By engaging with UN-Habitat’s networks of city leaders and officials, the collaboration will strengthen the IOC’s Olympism365 strategy, the IOC’s approach to bolstering the role of sport as an important enabler for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Specifically, the new partnership with UN-Habitat supports SDG 11 to “make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.”
The UN-Habitat is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities. It provides policy advice and technical assistance in more than 90 countries.
