sportanddev present at Commonwealth Sport Ministers Meeting

Sports ministers from across the Commonwealth gathered in Birmingham on 27 July for the 10th Commonwealth Sports Ministerial Meeting (10CSMM), held ahead of the Commonwealth Games. The meeting included ministers and senior officials from across the Commonwealth’s 56 nations and invited observers, including the international platform on sport and development.

The ministers adopted a ministerial statement which reaffirmed their commitment to using sport as a vehicle for ensuring the socio-economic, physical, and mental wellbeing of current and future generations - and the building of a common future that ensures that no one is left behind.

sportanddev presented on innovation in sport and development and the need to build a more equitable and inclusive sport and development sector. This included showcasing various innovations delivered in partnership with the Commonwealth Secretariat and other global actors, including:

• The global campaign on Reshaping Sport and Development
• The massive open online course (MOOC) on Sport for Sustainable Development
• The development of a dedicated section on sportanddev.org about Sport and the SDGs, and a sub-section on measuring the contribution of sport to the SDGs
• The development of a dedicated section on Responding to COVID-19
• Dedicated coverage of youth leadership and engagement in sport and development
• Development of a Learn More and Toolkit section on Sport Policy

Moving forward, sportanddev and the Commonwealth Secretariat will continue to develop and manage the innovations and resources above - and develop new innovations. These include the upcoming Sport Policy Hub to be hosted on an upgraded sportanddev.org, providing an online community of practice to share policy learnings, promote collaboration and impact, and to inform future policy direction.

In addition, sportanddev in partnership with the Commonwealth Secretariat and Australian government will develop a hybrid version of the MOOC for senior officials and provide the course in other languages, including French, Spanish and Arabic in order to increase equity and inclusion.

This was highlighted in the ministerial statement: “We welcomed the increased capacity building opportunities showcased by the International Platform on Sport and Development (sportanddev) and the forthcoming hybrid Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) and Sports Policy Hub that will deliver targeted learning and certified opportunities for government officials across several thematic areas in the Commonwealth.”

sportanddev support the commitments made at the Ministerial Meeting and will continue to work with the Commonwealth Secretariat and a range of stakeholders to ensure that sport can play a more impactful role in addressing inequities and contributing to health, education and other development goals.