Sport for social development

To mark IDSDP 2022, Kafka Welfare Organization brought together a diverse group of individuals from sport for development to discuss the opportunities and challenges to the sector, especially in the Global South.

Kafka Welfare Organization organized a webinar featuring SDP actors from across the world to mark the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) 2022. This was the third annual IDSDP webinar to be organized by Kafka.

The topic of the live webinar was “sports as an enabler of social development and women’s empowerment.”

The session brought together professionals from diverse backgrounds. Panellists included:

Umair Asif (Founder, Kafka Welfare Organization, Pakistan)
Gobinath Sivarajah (Marketing and Media Manager, National Olympic Committee, Sri Lanka)
Atif Shafiq (Physical Education and Sports Sciences Lecturer, GC University Lahore, Pakistan)
Victoria C. Soto (PhD scholar, Sports for Development and Peace, German Sports University)
Zohreh Abdollah Khani (PhD scholar, Gender and Sustainability, University of South-Eastern Norway)

Panellists discussed the role of sports in social development and its contribution to women's empowerment, gender equality, and community building in the Global South. They further highlighted how sports contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the challenges faced by sport for development and peace (SDP) campaigns in developing countries.

Focussing on social development through sports in Latin America, Pakistan, Iran, and Sri Lanka, the panellists noted the work that has been done and the work that lies ahead.

While highlighting the issue of gender equality in Latin America, Victoria C. Soto, who hails from Brazil, commented: “Keeping a gender perspective has been a priority in Latin America as well. However, I would like to highlight that when we are talking about gender we are not only talking about women’s empowerment. It is very necessary that we talk about the role of men and boys in gender equality. What is really missing is involving men in this discussion. It's not only about integrating girls into the team and making them play together, but it's also about discussing with men what are the benefits of a gender-equal society.”

Discussing the barriers faced by SDP campaigns in Pakistan and other developing countries Atif Shafiq noted: "Sports is an important tool to bridge the gap in a diverse society [like] Pakistan. Government, national federations, and the Pakistan Olympic Committee must focus on ignored populations and include them through sport and change their lives. Sport works [can be] a vital tool to improve the positive values amongst […] youth and channelize their energy."

Talking about challenges, Gobinath Sivarajah said: "Global NGOs have to seriously take responsibility for sustainable sports programs of social development. This should be a continuous process and proper evaluation must be put in place so that we can effectively reach the target of social development."

Umair Asif elaborated on the challenges faced by SDP programs in Pakistan. He said: "We need serious measures to include sports as a developmental tool in the priority list of governments of the developing world. Otherwise, we will keep facing challenges of sustainability in terms of finance and quality.” Further, he said that evaluations of SDP programs have been a concern and more emphasis on the SDP movement can help to overcome this issue.

Zohre Abdullah Khani concluded that SDP campaigns need to be operated by development organizations rather than elite sports organizations, which have different objectives.