'Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire, it has the power to unite people in a way that little else does.' As Nelson Mandela recognized, sport is more than physical exercise. It can teach people fairness, tolerance, and respect. In fact, it is a force and a tool that can help reach various goals to change the world for the better.
The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) uses the approach of “Sport for Development” (S4D) to contribute to the designated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) like gender equality, good health and quality education. For that matter, coaches in partner countries such as Namibia, Colombia and Jordan are trained to convey competences to children and adolescents that empower their self-esteem, help them master their daily lives, and take their future into their own hands.
What has been missing so far is a systematic overview of S4D strategic approaches, topics, methods, and tools. How can sport contribute to the SDGs? What kind of competences can children and youth, coaches and multipliers learn in theory and practice? How can we evaluate the outcome of S4D projects? The toolkit aims to promote the use of sport as an instrument for development policy-makers and workers and to encourage teachers, coaches and multipliers to run S4D activities and projects. It assembles experiences GIZ and their partners made in various countries. We arranged it according to development topics, countries, teaching and learning materials so that it allows you to put materials together anew to meet your own specific learning or training requirements.
We continuously add new content to the website. Kindly get in contact with us if you wish to know more about S4D or if you have any questions.
Sport brings together people and encourages participation. It contributes to the health and well-being of children and youth. It is enjoyable and transmits values such as fairness, team spirit, tolerance and understanding. When utilised in an educational and appropriate manner, sport enhances self-esteem, self-confidence and promotes readiness to take on responsibility. Participating in sport, children and young people learn to handle victory as well as defeat. They acquire life skills that help them deal with challenging situations and improve their prospective futures. More than any other field, sport is connected to the heart of civil society, facilitates participation and creates a sense of belonging that transcends ethnic and social divides. As an innovative approach of development cooperation, sport can provide individual and social incentives for change and sustainable development. The strength of the S4D approach lies in its cross-cutting nature, where it can contribute to designated development goals like health, gender equality or social cohesion.
The S4D Essentials give you a general idea on:
- What S4D is about
- How sport can contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- Which S4D Competences can be gained
- Capacity Development Procedures
- Teaching and Learning Materials
- Events
- Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) activities
- Additional resources are provided, if you want to go deeper into the subject matter
The S4D Topic Collection provides recommendations and practical examples on how sport can be used to achieve certain development goals and how it can be used in different contexts. Every topic starts with an introduction into the specific topic or context.
Then depending on the topic, you will find competence frameworks for children and youth, and coaches. Related to projects in different countries, the S4D Topic Collection gives you an idea of capacity development, events, of teaching and learning materials and of M&E tools.
In the S4D Country Collection, you will be able to find all the different GIZ supported S4D programs and projects, sorted by country. The Collection offers:
- Short project descriptions about the S4D approach developed in the country
- Developed Teaching and Learning Materials
- Capacity Development (CD) procedures in the country
- M&E tools used in the country.
Here you will find useful tools for incorporating S4D into your work. All the tools are available to new practitioners of S4D and support sustainable S4D activities for advanced practitioners.
Through the provided Teaching and Learning Materials you get final insights and inspiration. The Guidelines, M&E Tools and Templates are divided into different sections and can be chosen based off the tasks, working areas, or phases you are involved or you need support in.