An IDSDP video challenge

The International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) is an annual celebration of the power of sport to drive social change, community development and to foster peace and understanding.

Sport for development has the potential to create a sense of belonging, and promotes values of society, solidarity, and respect, favouring social cohesion.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Sport for change, a civil society organization based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is using a video campaign to address the larger community and encourage them to use sport as a developmental tool.

The “Take the ball, pass the ball” campaign asks people to record a 30-50 second video of the person on camera taking a ball from someone and giving a message on how they want to contribute to their country’s development initiatives or to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. After giving their message, the person should throw the ball back. A sample video can be found here.

The organization will mobilize youth that are part of their ‘Youth Voice’ campaign, organized in collaboration with Rotaract Habesha, to participate in the activity. They also plan to involve 10 ministers to send a message, in collaboration with the Ethiopian Ministry of Tourism and Culture. Finally, they will involve prominent individuals in the campaign, encouraging them to participate to show the power of sport to rebuild society.

Through this campaign, Sport for change will celebrate IDSDP and support organizations which are using sport as a tool and methodology to reach to people in society.  

If you would like to participate in the campaign, post your video on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram and challenge your friends and others to do the same. Remember to use any of the following hashtags:

#Sport4change

#ItstartswithYou

#Sportfordevelopmentandpeaceday

#Togetherwecan

#YouthVoice

#PowerofSporttorebuildtheworld

[This article has been edited by the Operating Team.]