Sport Matters

Sport for Development

Sport for development involves tapping into what sport can do “intentionally” to address a range of community priorities, such as community building, health promotion, Aboriginal youth engagement, economic revitalization, newcomer settlement, citizen participation and conflict resolution. While most sport for development happens at a local level around specific needs or opportunities, there is growing attention by policy-makers, philoanthropists and social investors in how sport for development increasingly resembles a trans-local movement, not just beyond our borders but also across Canadian communities.

SMG is a strong advocate for the intentional and innovative use of sport for development purposes. We organize an annual Sport for Development (S4D) Gathering, which brings leaders and innovators in the field of sport for development together to exchange ideas, to advance the field and to focus our collective efforts. SMG will be engaging with leaders and innovators in the coming months as we look toward the next S4D Gathering. Contact us at: info@sportmatters.ca for more information or to get involved!

2010s4d

SPORT FOR DEVELOPMENT GATHERING 2010

The Sport for Development (S4D) Gathering brings leaders and innovators in the field of sport for development together each June to exchange ideas, to advance the field and to focus our collective efforts. Sport for development involves tapping into what sport can do for a range of community priorities, such as community building, health promotion, Aboriginal youth engagement, economic revitalization, newcomer settlement, citizen participation and conflict resolution. While most sport for development happens at a local level around specific needs or opportunities, there is growing attention by policy-makers and social investors in how sport for development increasingly resembles a trans-local movement, not just beyond our borders but also across Canadian communities.

2010 – A Focus on Public Policy

In 2010 the focus of the gathering was on how these changes in the sport for development field effect our approaches to Canadian public policy.

What does it mean for sport policy in Canada? How does it implicate related social, health, economic, and international policy frameworks? For example, are changes in settlement policies, which now make use of sport strategies to welcome newcomers to Canada, a signal that policy adaptation is on the rise? What are the limits to effectively integrating sport into a broader range of public policies?

Click here for the summary notes. Below is our "Moving Forward agenda" as we look ahead to 2011 (more details are available on pages 17-18 of the summary notes).

1. Participant Evaluation and Feedback Survey
2. Early Partnerships Forming
3. Distribute Moving Forward Notes
4. Distribute Post Cards
5. Staying Connected: List Serve and Website Development
6. Gathering Summaries
7. Engaging in the Canadian Sport Policy Renewal Process
8. Story Telling Platform
9. Working Together Initiative
10. Active Circle collaboration with Aboriginal Communities
11. International Platform on S4D
12. Social Innovation Generation, University of Waterloo (SIG@Waterloo)
13. Plans for the Next Gathering

Thank you to our partners and contributors: