International Day of Sport for Development and Peace
Happy International Day of Sport for Development and Peace! Recognizing the vast potential and wide range of benefits of sports, the United Nations declared an international day in celebration of sports in 2013. Today, we celebrate the impact of sports on youth and children around the world by looking at the impact of play on child and youth development and exploring resources to delve deeper into the topic!
The benefits of sports extend far beyond health and physical fitness outcomes. According to the United Nations, sports "encourage individual development; health promotion and disease prevention; the promotion of gender equality; social integration and the development of social capital; peace-building and conflict prevention/resolution; post-disaster/trauma relief and normalization of life; economic development; and communication and social mobilization!" As a result, over the past twenty years there has been a global increase in the number of sports for development initiatives (UNICEF, 2018).
Studies continue to show the wide range of benefits of sports, and we have found the Aspen Institute’s Project Play a good resource for beginning to unpack the benefits of youth sports. In recent years, there has also been a push to understand how play not only impacts children and youth’s physical development but also their psychological and cognitive development. The Lego Foundation has been at the forefront of this research, and we find their 2017 white paper on “The role of play in children’s development: a review of the evidence” to be an excellent tool for understanding what we know and what we don’t know about the different types of play.
Our colleagues at the Juhudi Youth Initiative are working to capitalize on the benefits of sports through mobilizing their local community to construct an Olympic-standard track and field stadium in Mugunda, Kenya. In this community, they recognize sports as an opportunity to provide youth with strong coaching and mentorship opportunities. Youth athletes from the Initiative report feeling stronger when they’re running and ready to tackle life’s challenges.
Our colleagues in the Tribal and Social Welfare Societies in Telangana take a whole child approach to education in their schools in rural India and embed opportunities for physical exercise and activity in their students’ regular routines. In our site visits to schools, we see students excited to participate in team sports with their classmates!
Partners in our Strong Beginnings program in Haiti have also found great success in integrating moments for play and movement in morning meetings for preschool students. The songs and dances that start students’ days at school have become a favorite of teachers and students alike!
Be sure to visit —https://www.un.org/en/observances/sport-day/resources— for additional resources on how you can celebrate this day by getting active!
