Press Release
‘Sport for all’ on the agenda, as Ministers discuss using sport for social and economic development
Commonwealth Sports Ministers will meet during the 19th Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India, on 4 October 2010.
Dr M S Gill, India’s Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, will chair the fifth biennial meeting of Commonwealth Sports Ministers. The Meeting will focus on the ways in which sport can be used to contribute to youth development in the Commonwealth.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma said: “At every turn, the Commonwealth has reaffirmed its belief that sport is for the many and not for the few, and that it can be a powerful tool in positive social transformation. It can advance our most cherished goals in the Commonwealth: those of democracy, development and diversity.”
Mr Sharma will be in India for the Sports Ministers Meeting, and both the opening and closing of the Commonwealth Games.
The Meeting will hear from the Commonwealth Advisory Body on Sport (CABOS) CABOS was established in 2005 to promote the value of sport as a tool for social and economic development, including using sports to improve achievement and attendance in school, to improve health, create cohesive communities, and tackle inequalities in society.
Dr Bruce Kidd, Chair of CABOS, stressed that sport is not only about competition and the performance of elite athletes. “While the inspiration provided by the Commonwealth’s sporting heroes is powerful, it is not enough to make a difference. It needs to be followed up with sustainable programmes if the promise of sport for development is to be realised. That is the urgent challenge facing the Commonwealth, and one which Ministers will be discussing in New Delhi.”
The Commonwealth Secretariat Sports Development Adviser, S S Chhabra, said: “There is increasing recognition that sport can be used as a strategy towards realising the Millennium Development Goals of universal education, gender equality, child and maternal health, the prevention of HIV/AIDS, and global partnerships.
“It is an enormous challenge to ensure that every young person in the Commonwealth enjoys the rights, benefits and cultural participation of sport and physical activity, but that should be our goal.”
At the meeting, Ministers will be updated on United Nations activities on Sport for Development and Peace, a topic which will also be presented by Ms Akua Sena Dansua, Minister of Youth and Sports in Ghana. Further, Ministers will be briefed by Mike Fennell, President of the Commonwealth Games Federation, and David Howman, Director General of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
“I believe the Meeting can see us take great strides in establishing ‘sport for development’ as an integral part of our Commonwealth Youth Programme, as part of wider Commonwealth Secretariat activities particularly in areas like health and education, and – perhaps most importantly of all – in the policy and programme agendas of all our member governments,” said Mr Sharma.
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For media enquiries, please contact Victoria Holdsworth, Communications Officer, Commonwealth Secretariat, on v.holdsworth@commonwealth.int or +44 (0)7894 593 520.
Cathy Price Administrative Assistant Communications & Public Affairs Division Commonwealth Secretariat Marlborough House Pall Mall London SW1Y 5HX United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 20 7747 6386 Fax: Direct +44 (0) 20 7004 3771 General: +44 (0) 20 7839 9081 Web: www.thecommonwealth.org Did You Know? The Commonwealth assists countries with international trade, debt, finance, and economic and legal advice.