(Commonwealth)__World sport professionals convened at a recent web convention hosted by the Commonwealth Secretariat to listen to how sport has the potential to accelerate the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Hosted by Sport Development Network (SDN) and ConnectCIC, the convention coincided with the midpoint of the United Nations‘ “Decade of Action” and brought together practice, policy, and academic influentials to share and debate best practices and knowledge.
The United Nations 2030 Agenda positions sport as a significant agent of sustainable development. Sport has been overall lauded to inspire advancement with respect to health, social inclusion, peace, and social cohesion, but available evidence for now shows that hardly any of the global goals have been achieved so far. The convention was held under the slogan “Beyond 2030: Working together and converging to improve sport’s contribution to sustainable development,” and during it, it invited the delegates to consider working towards actual actions and cross-sector collaborations as an attempt to meet the upcoming deadline.
The deliberations highlighted the critical urgency of closing the gap between practice and policy. Gratitude was voiced that civil society and community actors were central to the unleashing of sport’s development potential but are disconnected from international and national policy agendas. Rather than demanding further research, however, authors referred to the potential for challenging current evidence to enhance analysis of how and why sport is generating social and economic change.
Tracking progress was of interest. The Commonwealth Secretariat underscored the significance of tracking results to ensure informed and accountable decision-making. Its Sport for Development and Peace department will publish a Global Sport and Sustainable Development Goals Impact Report to track member states’ progress. The Secretariat approach relies on three pillars: setting policy responsive to driving the agenda, strengthening the capacity of those that work in the sector, and building effective systems for monitoring results and progress.
The conference was also marked by interventions from distinguished speakers on the application of sport in gender equality, development, and peace. Worth noting is the way speakers emphasized the importance of the collection and sharing of data at all levels, from grassroots communities to global programs, when measuring the extent to which sport can facilitate social change and inclusivity. Evidence-based research is thus regarded as crucial in informing policymakers and achieving sport the recognition and investment it requires to attain the SDGs.
The conference was referred to as the biggest in network history, where there was intense debate and biting presentation that challenged the actors to exercise their critical thinking ability to think through the sport’s contribution to sustainable development. The turnout demonstrated the growing support for the global sport-for-development movement and highlighted the importance of providing avenues for practitioners, researchers, and policymakers to exchange information.
ConnectSport CIC recommitted to UK and worldwide stakeholders on work to ensure the optimal contribution of sport and physical activity to the SDGs. The organization appealed to the convention as a move in the way of partnership continuity and discussion to promote better great debate at the following face-to-face conference of the network.
The Commonwealth Secretariat remains at the forefront of promoting the role sports can play in supporting society. Its Sport for Development and Peace sector provides governments with professional advice on policy, designs policy, and assists in monitoring and evaluation to allow nations to reap maximum benefits of sport as a tool for sustainable development. Through collaboration with international organizations, national governments, and the global sports movement, the Secretariat continues to make the sport sector a major driver of 2030 target achievement.
With the 2030 deadline looming, this convention acts as a reminder that sport is not entertainment or recreation. Sport can act as a strategic tool for solving some of the globe’s biggest issues, from education and health to gender equality and peaceful societies. It will require attaining policy convergence, practice convergence, and measurement convergence if sport is to be permitted to reach its potential in assisting in the resolution of the Sustainable Development Goals.
