For several years international development and humanitarian organisations have been increasingly looking to sports as an instrument of reaching development goals, including the UN Millennium Development Goals. The International Year of Sport and Physical Education 2005 was the climax of an idea that has cast its spell on an increasing number of actors. “Sport & Development” has produced an influential dynamic that is reflected in the multiplicity of such projects around the globe, in the programs of governmental and multilateral institutions as well as among sports associations and private businesses as a part of their corporate social responsibility efforts.

The expectations placed on sport are high and the development potential ascribed to it is large. Sport is responsible for the development of character by nurturing such personal traits as self-esteem and communication skills as well as values such as fair play, teamwork, and tolerance – all within the cadre of fun, healthy physical exercise and competition. The applications of sport are many: whether it is in overcoming trauma of civil war or natural disasters; integration of marginalised populations; awareness campaigns of health and medical issues; promotion of peace; or greater gender equity, great hope is being placed in sport’s ability to address development-related problems.

Tasked with the management of the first Magglingen Conference in February 2003, SAD has been involved in the field of “Sport & Development” since the beginning. Since then, we have emerged as a frontrunner in “Sport & Development” through our efforts to make scientifically sound contributions to the validation and operationalisation of the field. Besides the implementation, oversight, and evaluation of operational projects, we seek to develop theoretical principles and practical instruments for this kind of development cooperation. We accomplish this by our applied research through the implementation of pilot projects, which help us provide answers to the following questions which guide our engagement in the “Sport & Development” field:

• How does sport work to accomplish social aims?
• How are projects best designed to have the greatest impact?
• What factors in the planning for and execution of projects are most likely to produce successful outcomes?
• What instruments are most appropriate in the Monitoring and Evaluation of “Sport & Development” projects?

Activities

• The development of a body of evidence on the use of sport in development and humanitarian aid contexts
• The synthesis of experiences (our own and of those of other actors) and the development of practical tools and standards for the planning and implementation of projects
• The building of capacity in Monitoring and Evaluation among organisations that seek to use sport as an instrument for reaching development goals
• The advancing of synergies between the various actors in “Sport & Development”

Furthermore SAD took part in the following initiatives and events:

• International “Sport for All ” Congress, 3-6 November 2008 in Genting Highlands, Malaysia. SAD presented the International Platform on Sport and Development (www.sportanddev.org ) during the event.
• First Monitoring & Evaluation training workshop of the FIFA/streetfootballworld’s “Football for Hope ” M & E pilot project, 6-10 June 2008 in Cape Town, South Africa. The event was organised and led by SAD.
• Seminar “Sport in Post-disaster Intervention ” 1-7 November 2008 in Rheinsberg, Germany. SAD was involved as a partner organisation and provided online coverage of the event.
• Conference “The Sport and Social Inclusion Symposium ”, 18 June 2008 in Bern, Switzerland. SAD organised and led the event. Logistics was also overseen by SAD.
• Conference "Gender Equity in Sport for Social Change ", 17-20 May 2008 in Casablanca (Morocco). SAD was a member of the conference Partners Group and managed logistics for the event.
• Conference "The Next Step ", 19-22 September 2007 in Windhoek (Namibia). SAD was a member of the Partners Group.
• Conference "Gender Equity in Sport for Social Change ", 19-22 May 2007 in Casablanca (Morocco). SAD was involved as a partner organisation and member of the board for the event.
• Launching event for "Sport for Social Change Network" (SSCN), 6-9 February 2007 in Nairobi (Kenya). SAD was involved as a partner organisation and member of the board for the event.
• SAD was a member of and Back-office for the Sport and Development Swiss Working Group from 2004-2006.
• 2nd Magglingen Conference Sport and Development, 4-6 December 2005 in Magglingen. SAD managed the programme for the event.
• -1st Magglingen Conference Sport and Develpment, 16-18 February 2003 in Magglingen. SAD organised the event.
  

For example:

International Platform: "Sport and Development"  

Promoting youth in Lebanon I
Sport and play for Lebanese children and youth affected by armed conflict

Ethnic and social integration via sport and games in Sri Lanka following the tsunami

Contact:

Jutta Engelhardt
Teamleader
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+41 (0)32 344 30 52

Sport and Development : A summary of SAD's experiences and best practices
M. Akhbari, V. Kund, R. Wijesekera, U. Selvaraju, Biel 2010, pdf 2.7 MB

Sport and Play for Traumatized Children and Youth
An assessment of a pilot-project in Bam, Iran
Valeria Kunz (2006), pdf 764KB

Gender Equity, Sport and Development
Marianne Meier (2005) pdf 341KB

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