Sport and Development Conference in Denmark

The Danish Network for Sport and Development (NSD) held a conference with the theme: Sport and Development Initiatives: 'what difference do they make?'.

Opening thoughts
ISCA Secretary General - Jacob Schouenborg - threw participants in the deep end with an honest and self-critical opening speech, questioning 'the difference sport for development projects make'.

Participants
The audience included representatives from Danish sports associations and members of the NSD network, field workers in Denmark and from abroad, development workers, researchers, students as well as representatives from foreign sports commissions and the UNOSDP - a real mix of people who had varying degrees of knowledge about Sport & Development.

Lessons learnt and experience
Presentations from the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports (NIF) and the Australian Sports Commission gave open accounts of the past experiences and lessons learned of both organisations in conducting sports programmes in developing countries -- programmes  that also prioritise human, social and community development, as well as sport. 

Practical exercises
Kicking AIDS Out activities were squeezed into the tight programme to give participants a feel for the practical applications of sport in HIV/AIDS prevention.

Updates from the UN and M&E
The afternoon included an update on the current status of activities in the UNOSDP as well as further discussion and debate on the evidence gathered through monitoring and evaluation on the role of sport in development.