Uganda is the first country using athletics as a tool for development. German Development Cooperation and the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) cooperated closely with World Athletics(WA) and the German Athletics Federation (DLV) as well as with many local stakeholders. In Uganda, the Training and Resource Network (TRN) was established in 2018 and gathers a wide range of stakeholders such as various Ugandan ministries, the Ugandan Paralympic Committee (UPC), the Ugandan Athletics Federation (UAF), international organizations (UNICEF) and different local NGOs. The political partner of the project was the Ugandan Ministry of Education and Sport (MoES).

The main objective of this project was to develop and implement the method “Athletic for Development” (A4D) in close collaboration with the TRN members. The TRN monitors, advised and advocated for A4D and supported the implementation of the project. World Athletics has had experience and expertise in the use of sports and athletics in Uganda since 2009, particularly in school sports. As a starting point, the "Kids' Athletics" approach used worldwide was identified, which was then expanded to include development policy components in cooperation with German development cooperation.

The “play and learn” teaching method of athletics with its focus on running, jumping and throwing was used to foster development objectives in Uganda. The aim was to develop local resources and structures, integrate marginalised and vulnerable groups and the education of master trainers. The target group consisted of marginalised young people up to 30 years of age (e.g. inclusion of people with disabilities, integration of host communities and refugees, empowerment of girls and young women). It was further aimed to empower youth in their personal development such as to strengthen the social cohesion and dialogue in and between communities as well as to use sport as a tool for improved health, education and inclusion in the school and extracurricular context. The longterm vision has been to integrate A4D into the Ugandan training and teaching curricula.

During the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, Viva con Agua and GIZ partnered up to develop the hygiene manual “Become the next Washampion”. This comic book filled with activities and information on hygiene measures aims at educating young people in a fun way on how to behave within a sports team and in their respective communities during pandemic times. More than 5000 children and teenagers have been reached through the manual already and both partner organisations have been busy planning the distribution of a lot more comic books throughout all districts in Uganda.

The sport-pedagogical qualification of coaches and teachers is the main component of our advanced education and training programmes in the field of S4D. Below you will find workshop documents from Uganda which give you some insight into workshop contents and discussions.

Quality Assurance System A4D in Uganda
GIZ 2020 Englisch

We invite you to have a look at the following teaching and learning material, which was created by the German Development Cooperation (GIZ) on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and our partner organizations in Uganda.

SDG 6/5 Menstrual Hygiene Management
GIZ-NAYIGA 2022 Englisch

Manual "Athletics 4 Wash Handbook", Uganda
VcA, GIZ 2022 Englisch

Athletics for Development, Uganda
GIZ 2021 Englisch

Manual "Water, Sanitation, Hygiene Champion", Uganda
VcA, GIZ 2020 Englisch