MINEPS VI kicks off in Kazan
MINEPS VI starts today in Kazan, Russia, with an experts’ forum. Running from 13 to 15 July, the conference creates a platform for exchange on physical education and sport, and provides a mechanism for formulating international strategy on the topic.
Organised by UNESCO, the first MINEPS took place in 1976 in Paris, with the most recent being held in Berlin in 2013. Conference organisers expect ministers and senior officials responsible for sport from 195 UNESCO member states to attend. They will be joined by representatives from intergovernmental organisations, academia, the sport world and specialist NGOs.
This year’s conference focuses on three main themes:
- Developing a comprehensive vision of inclusive access for all
- Maximising the contributions of sport to sustainable development and peace
- Protecting the integrity of sport
The event in Kazan will build on the UNESCO Revised Charter of Physical Education, Physical Activity and Sport and the work of previous conferences – in particular, the 2013 Declaration of Berlin. Coordinators hope the conference will mark a shift from statements of intent towards measurable action. The goal is, therefore, to agree on a plan of action which ministers commit to rather than adopt another declaration.
sportanddev.org has been invited because the Swiss Academy for Development – which operates sportanddev.org – is a member of the Permanent Consultative Council to the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for Physical Education and Sport (CIGEPS). Over the last twelve months we have been involved in consultations regarding the conference’s content, and we are looking forward to seeing how it unfolds. With the Sustainable Development Goal era in its second year and questions being asked about the future of sport and development policy following the closure of the UNOSDP, the time is right for governments to translate words into action.
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