ICSSPE special news edition on International Day of Sport for Developement and Peace

To acknowledge the upcoming International Day of Sport for Development and Peace on 6 April, ICSSPE published an online special news edition on the topic.

The special news features 20 contributions from actors around the world participating in the sport for development and peace movement! It also includes a foreword by the United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace. The following is the ICSSPE editorial from the special news edition.

On 23 August 2013 the General Assembly of the United Nations declared the 6th of April the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace. Approved by consensus the date was decided upon by analogy with the opening of the first modern Olympic Games in Athens on 6 April 1896.

The objective of the proclamation is to advocate for utilising sport as a tool for education, development and peace, solidarity, tolerance, understanding, social inclusion and health at the local, national and international levels. Furthermore it seeks to promote integrity in sports and to encourage all groups of society to engage in this process.

The International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education draws upon a long history of engaging in advocacy work regarding the social and ethical dimensions of sports. Fostering cross-sectoral collaboration, ICSSPE’s strategic priorities encompass ethics and professionalisation, quality physical education and healthy living across the lifespan.

Bearing this in mind ICSSPE considers the inception of the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace an important political milestone in terms of raising awareness and creating a sense for the power of sport. It is viewed particularly meaningful in the context of the follow-up to the Fifth International Conference of Ministers and Senior Officials Responsible for Physical Education and Sport (MINEPS V) and the implementation of the Declaration of Berlin.

This Special Edition of the ICSSPE Online News provides a collection of articles and statements on the significance of this day for all stakeholders, insights and perspectives on the new event, and how organisations are planning to celebrate, reflect and engage on this day. It contains contributions by key players from the world of sport and physical activity and addresses policymakers, practitioners and researchers alike.

The special news edition is available online here .