One component
This study will explore the contribution of sports programs to peacebuilding efforts in East Africa. It is acknowledged that such programmes are often one component within a larger peacebuilding project. More specifically, the tools of sport and play are complementarily applied to other programmes, providing opportunities for differing populations with varying interests. Efforts to build peace exist on a myriad of levels, but the programmes examined within this study are solely grassroots initiatives in East Africa, that use sport as a method of peacebuilding. A common aim of such programmes has been to utilise the convening power of team sports, with the hope of creating friendships that change stereotypes and produce lasting positive change in the region.
Contact hypothesis
This paper analyses case studies from East Africa in the nascent Sport, Development and Peace sector: The East Africa Cup (EAC), Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA), and Vijana Amani Pamoja (VAP). Employing Gordon Allport’s Contact Hypothesis it asks "To what degree are sports programs an effective means of creating positive contact in order to reduce prejudice?" Having done so it applies this finding to John Paul Lederach’s theories of conflict transformation, asking "How can contact through sports programs contribute to building peace?"
Activity