by Ilio Masprone-Piblisher – Knight of the Principality of Monaco for cultural merits MONACO. Friday, 6 April 2018 is the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace. (IDSDP). On this day, citizens of the world are encouraged to learn, innovate and promote the ways that sport can help countries, communities and individuals to live, peaceful, prosperous lives. In 2013, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 6 April as the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, to celebrate the contribution of sports and physical activity to education, human development, healthy lifestyles and a peaceful world. Why Sport? Sport has historically played an important role in all societies, be it in the form of competitive sport, physical activity or play. But one may wonder: what does sport have to do with the United Nations? In fact, sport presents a natural partnership for the United Nations (UN) system, including UNESCO. Sport and play are human rights that must be respected and enforced worldwide; sport has been increasingly recognized and used as a low-cost and high-impact tool in humanitarian, development and peace-building efforts, not only by the UN system but also by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), governments, development agencies, sports federations, armed forces and the media. Sport can no longer be considered a luxury within any society but is rather an important investment in the present and future, particularly in developing countries. In Monaco, the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace also celebrates the White Card Campaign. Under the High Patronage of H.S.H. Prince Albert II, the initiative encourages people to take images of themselves holding up “white cards for peace” before posting them to social media. The #WhiteCard campaign is anchored around the United Nation’s International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP), celebrated on 6 April. The IDSDP celebrates the contribution of sport and physical activity to education, human development, healthy lifestyles and a peaceful world. This launch will begin a series of several key Peace and Sport events taking place in different countries to highlight the work being done to promote peace through sport. H.S.H Prince Albert II of Monaco said: “In my positions as Head of State, Olympian, IOC member and Patron of “Peace and Sport, I support this initiative. It highlights the values of our Principality in the promotion of sport as a tool for peace.” And Peace and Sport Founder and President, Joel Bouzou, added: “Our #WhiteCard campaign helps to spread our vision for a peaceful world across the globe, and this year promises to be no different. Year in year out, our Champions for Peace work tirelessly to promote our message, that sport can be a vehicle for change around the world.”
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable describes sport as an important enabler of sustainable development. It recognizes the growing contribution of sport to the realization of development and peace in its promotion of tolerance and respect and the contributions it makes to the empowerment of women and of young people, individuals and communities as well as to health, education and social inclusion objectives. Limited comparable data exists on the impact of sport in social and economic settings, but the many existing positive anecdotes are driving continued research on the leveraging the role of sport for development gains. On the occasion of the 2018 International Day of Sport for Development and Peace on 6 April, the Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD) of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) is launching an online campaign to celebrate the growing contribution of sport to development and peace through the promotion of tolerance, respect, empowerment of women and youth, health, education and social inclusion. The online campaign #PlayforGlobalGoals seeks to encourage individuals and organizations who support or carry out sport for development and peace activities to participate in the commemoration of the International Day. Specifically, it invites individuals and organizations to share a picture on social media that represents for them the “power of sport to promote peace, unity and social inclusion”. The campaign will contribute to building unity among nations and peoples, following the UN Secretary-General’s Antonio Guterres call. and to make 2018 “a year for unity.” The campaign will focus especially on sport’s contribution to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 10: the international community has made significant strides towards lifting people out of poverty.
The most vulnerable nations – the least developed countries, the landlocked developing countries and the small island developing states – continue to make inroads into poverty reduction. However, inequality still persists and large disparities remain in access to health and education services and other assets. Additionally, while income inequality between countries may have been reduced, inequality within countries has risen. There is growing consensus that economic growth is not sufficient to reduce poverty if it is not inclusive and if it does not involve the three dimensions of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental. To reduce inequality, policies should be universal in principle paying attention to the needs of disadvantaged and marginalized populations.
Contact: sport@unesco.org