Hyderabad: Sports can help improve equity, teamwork, equity, inclusion and endurance. In times of crisis, sports can help reduce stress, promote physical and mental well-being, and strengthen social ties. The United Nations annually observes International Day for Sport on April 6, recognising the role of sports in promoting social change.
History of International Day of Sport
The International Olympic Committee and the United Nations are committed to using sport as a tool for social change. Both organizations have used sports to bridge cultural gaps and improve standards of education, health, and economic and social development around the world.
On August 23, 2013, the United Nations declared that the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace will be celebrated on April 6 each year. Coincidentally, it is also the day that marks the opening of the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896. The International Day of Sport for Development and Peace encourages active lifestyles and finding ways to make sport accessible to all. There’s also a special focus on getting more children to participate in sports.
Timeline
- 1894: International Olympic Committee -The International Olympic Committee is founded in France.
- 1896: Modern Olympic Games -The first modern Olympic game is held in Athens, Greece.
- 1945: United Nations -The United Nations is founded in California, U.S.A.
- 1959: Philip Noel-Baker Wins the Nobel Peace Prize -He is the only sportsperson to have won an Olympic medal and a Nobel Prize.
Role of sport in Development and Peace-Building
Sport is a compelling tool to promote peace, tolerance, and understanding, bringing people together across boundaries, cultures, and religions. Its values such as teamwork, fairness, discipline, and respect are understood all over the world and can be utilized in the advancement of solidarity and social cohesion.
The 2030 Agenda, adopted in 2015 by the United Nations, recalls that “sport is an important enabler of sustainable development” and values “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.”
Beyond the fact that sport can stimulate positive mental health and cognitive development, it also contributes to the promotion of tolerance, respect, perseverance, resilience, equity, and solidarity. Sport participation leads to personal development that is important for realizing youth potential.
Sport can build bridges between communities, regardless of their cultural differences or political divisions, as it disregards geographical borders, ethnic differences and social classes. It also plays a significant role as a promoter of social integration and economic empowerment.
The rise of sport-based development and peace-building projects in conflict affected regions exemplifies how sport has proven capable of easing conflicts that might otherwise have escalated.
Sport has the capacity to support vulnerable youth because it is structured around norms, behaviours and rules that are also desirable in the larger community.
Sport offers young people the opportunity to acquire social capital through the development of contacts and networks.
Peaceful Moments in Sports
- In 2010, the United Nations organised a gala event, named 'Sports for Peace' before the FIFA World Cup. Nelson Mandela was the ambassador of this initiative where football tournaments were highlighted as a world-uniting event.
- The UN aims to promote relevant international, national and regional sport organisations that are working as platforms to uphold the economically backward class, especially in Africa.
- The Olympic Truce is perhaps the most wonderful thing that has happened in sports. According to the truce, all countries agree to provide safe passage to all athletes, families and fans travelling to the Olympic Games. The tradition started in 778 BC and was revived in 2012 by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
- In all the war-affected countries in Africa and the rest of the world, football is being used to reintegrate child soldiers.
- Shattering all ethnic and social stigma, football players such as David Beckham and Ronaldinho Gaucho make time to play and teach football with kids in developing countries to help them have a better life.
- Two players from two countries in a love-hate relationship along the line of control paired up in the US Open men's doubles in 2010. Pakistan's Aisam Ul-Haq Qureshi and Rohan Bopanna of India, together known as the 'IndoPak Express', reached the finals and got a top 10 doubles ranking. The duo launched the Stop War Start Tennis campaign to promote peace through sports.
