Participatory approaches in sport for development: Experiences from around the world

What are some facilitation techniques organisations can use to ensure workshops are participatory? How can children and young people be involved in decision-making? How can we make fundraising more participatory by involving sports fans?

These were some of the questions authors addressed in response to our recent call for articles on participatory approaches in sport for development. Addressing issues around the inclusion of project participants and partners in the design and implementation of sport for development work, writers shared experiences from a wide range of perspectives.

We received 23 articles from 28 writers. They came from 16 countries in six continents, working for universities, NGOs, networks and think tanks.

The call for articles was launched by partners of the Sport for Social Cohesion Lab project Erasmus+ funded Sport for Social Cohesion Lab (SSCL) project, aiming to encourage the sharing of experiences on this important topic. The project worked to support the implementation of a highly-participatory Living Lab approach within five sport for social cohesion programmes in four different European countries.

• Read the call for articles submissions

The call for articles also coincides with the launch of SSCL final toolkit, which shares experiences and guidelines on designing and implementing Living Labs.

• Read the toolkit

The SSCL project partners would like to thank everyone who shared their expertise and experiences as part of our call for articles.

Project partners

• Bochum, Germany: The German Sport University (who are the coordinator of the project) and In Safe Hands
• Dublin, Ireland: Munster Technological University and Sport Against Racism Ireland (SARI)
• 's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands: International Sports Alliance (ISA)
• The Hague, the Netherlands: The Hague University of Applied Sciences
• Olomouc, Czech Republic: INEX-SDA / fotbal pro Rozvoj and Palacky University Olomouc
• Vienna, Austria: The European Network of Sport Education
• Copenhagen, Denmark: The International Platform on Sport and Development (sportanddev)

Article image: Fotbol pro Rozvoj