In 1999, the UN General Assembly declared August 12 as International Youth Day.
This day honors young people’s contribution to the world and acknowledges the challenges faced by the youth of today, including illiteracy and poverty. It is a day for reflection, but also a day for taking action.
For International Youth Day 2022, the UN is emphasizing the need for action across all generations to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ensure that no one is left behind.
Sport and Development Objectives – S4D
Sport has the capacity to transform the lives of individuals. It bolsters physical, psychological, emotional, and social wellbeing and development. At the same time, sport also plays a significant role in cultures and communities around the world.
This has led to an increased interest in the power of sport to achieve developmental outcomes. The ability of sports to cut across a range of boundaries to unite people makes it an important vehicle for change.
Sport for development (S4D) is a fast-growing field which aims to bring about social change through the intentional use of sport, games and play. Stakeholders across the world such as the UN, government agencies and NGOs are increasingly interested in the potential of sport as a tool to achieve personal, community, national and international development objectives, along with addressing some of the challenges facing youth.
The United Nations Task Force on Sport for Development and Peace in its 2003 report concluded that “sport offers a cost-effective tool to meet many development and peace challenges and help achieve the MDGs [the UN’s Millennium Development Goals].”
One of the most common uses of sport in the development arena is for conveying educational, public health, safety, and environmental messages. Sport is also used to foster individual development and learning. Furthermore, sport encourages balanced participation and promotes gender equality. Through sport, women and girls can be empowered and benefit from the positive impact of sport. In the wake of war, disaster, and humanitarian crises, sport programs can play an important role in healing emotional wounds, restoring a sense of normalcy, and creating an opportunity for healthy social interaction.
Building the leaders of tomorrow in Bhubaneswar
Pro Sport Development (PSD) is a social enterprise working towards the vision of developing sport and empowering youth in India. PSD uses sport as a tool to support the holistic development of youth, providing them with well-structured and professionally conducted programs that foster their growth as confident and competent learners.
PSD develops and implements a wide range of sport-based programs for children and youth. These programs are designed to help children by improving their physical literacy, raising their self-esteem, promoting gender equality, building soft skills and boosting their overall potential.
PSD’s flagship program is the Community Sports Program (CSP), which has been implemented in Bhubaneswar, Odisha since 2015. The CSP works with children between the ages of 5-16 years from low-income families in various slum settlements of the city, utilizing physical activity and sports to aid in their holistic development. To date, PSD has reached out to more than 3000 children who live in slum areas of Bhubaneswar through the CSP.
• Read about the impact the CSP had in 2021-22
The CSP has helped participants increase their physical activity levels, providing them with the opportunity to participate in structured sports activities. It has given them the opportunity and resources to participate in structured sports activities. Anjali*, a 14-year-old girl from Saraswati Vidya Mandir shared, “Earlier, we would just study and go back home. After we became a part of the CSP, we gained an interest in sports and we now feel we can do something in sports. Playing together has also enhanced my interest in sports.”
A cornerstone of the CSP is its focus on gender equality and commitment to gender justice. The CSP focuses on improving relations between boys and girls, emphasizing the importance of mixed-gender interactions. Many participants have noted that the CSP has allowed them to interact with their peers of other genders in a safe space. Along with the physical activity sessions, participants also learn various aspects of gender and socialization, helping them recognize the various ways in which gender inequality plays out in their lives. Kiran, a 14-year-old student shared, “CSP taught us how girls are no less than boys. CSP taught us about gender equality through multiple videos and pictures. I learned that girls are as good as or sometimes better than boys in some sports!”
Through the CSP, participants have also noted that they have been able to build their sense of self and become more confident. Madhumita, a 14-year-old girl shared, “Before CSP came into our lives, I thought that physical fitness was about going to the gym, doing yoga and staying slim. I used to think that fat people or people who have a disability are not fit. But after I joined the CSP, I got to know through one of the sessions that there are different body types and shapes. We learnt that anyone can be fit despite the variation in body types and shapes. Now, I feel even I am fit.”
Many of the participants found that their participation in the CSP improved their academic performance as well. The pandemic made it difficult to concentrate on studies and other tasks at hand, but the CSP provided participants with the ability to remain focused. Smita, 13 year-old girl shared, “As everything got shut, I couldn’t go out and that made focusing on studies difficult as I was not able to discuss studies with my friends. The online sessions enhanced my concentration as I was finally able to talk to friends and PSD trainers were helping us out with everything. Staying fit also helped me stay focused.”
The CSP is testament to the fact that sport, when used in an intentional and planned manner, can be vital in enhancing the different skill sets of the participants, progressively aiding their holistic development. This is even more important in today’s day and age, where youth face many uncertainties, including global pandemics and pressing climate change issues.
PSD and other S4D organizations around the world are using the power of sports to improve and positively shape the lives of youth, future global citizens and leaders, empowering them to become catalysts of positive change.
*All names have been changed to protect the identity of the youth.
– Hariom Agarwal