#iplayforSDGs

06.04.2016 – Sport has a unique power to attract, mobilize and inspire. By its very nature, sport is about participation. It is about inclusion and citizenship.  Most importantly, sport is a fundamental right.

From refugee camps, to slums, to war zones, to violent inner city neighborhoods, sport can improve the daily lives of needy and vulnerable persons. It can make a difference where other means have failed. Sport provides a forum to learn skills such as discipline, confidence, and leadership, and it teaches core principles such as tolerance, cooperation, respect, and the value of effort

Sport plays a significant role as a promoter of social integration and economic development in different geographical, cultural and political contexts. In a statement, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, "Sport has an essential role to play.  Sport promotes health and well-being.  It fosters tolerance, mutual understanding and peace.  It contributes to social inclusion and equality.  It empowers women and girls and persons with disabilities.  It is a vital part of quality education in schools."

For these reasons the United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace (UNOSDP) provides the entry point to the United Nations system with regard to Sport for Development and Peace, bringing the worlds of sport and development closer together. On this third International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, UN Special Adviser on Sport Wilfried Lemke calls for united action towards the Sustainable Development Goals through sport.

"Sport is acknowledged as an important enabler of sustainable development, being recognised for its growing contribution to the realization of development and peace," said Mr. Lemke in a video message. "Since sport will play an important role with the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, the United Nations is focusing on the SDGs for this year’s International Day of Sport for Development and Peace."

Mr. Lemke highlighted the UN social media campaign I play for SDGs in which participants are invited to take photos of themselves playing sport in advocacy of one of the 17 SDGs. 

____________________________________

UNRICs Related Links

· International Day of Sport for Development and Peace

· United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace

· Sustainable Development Goals

Photo: UNOSDP