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December 19, 2016
Linking Sports and the new Sustainable Development Goals
The Principality of Monaco announces collaboration with the SDG Fund to use sports to advance development goals
The Principality of Monaco announced the launch of a new partnership with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Fund (SDG-F) to promote sports and development. The project comes on the heels of the adoption of the biennial General Assembly resolution entitled “Sport as a means to promote education, health, development and peace”, co-facilitated by the Permanent Missions of Monaco and Tunisia, in their capacity of Co-Chairs of the Group of Friends of Sport for development and peace.
Leading on this United Nations resolution, the Mission of Monaco has been a prominent voice and instrumental in the consultations for this initiative. The resolution encourages additional cooperation among the private sector, civil society and governments on the important theme of sports and development, especially in an effort to prevent conflict and promote peace. The resolution also calls for greater collaboration to encourage the use of sport to strengthen education for children and young people, promote health, including by preventing drug abuse empower girls and women, and foster the inclusion of persons with disabilities. In fact, sport was recognized in the 2030 Agenda as “an important enabler of sustainable development.”
Sports has a powerful role to play as an educational tool and means to promote the Sustainable Development Goals
Isabelle F. Picco
Ambassador of Monaco
“Sports has a powerful role to play as an educational tool and means to promote the Sustainable Development Goals. As such, we need to put sports at the forefront of communities, by promoting health while playing sports, and developing social skills. We also need to build safe spaces for children to flourish, and advance interaction and dialogue among peoples from different backgrounds,” said Ambassador Isabelle F. Picco of Monaco who advocated for the resolution on behalf of her country.
In addition to continuing to advocate for what is considered, sports based development, the Principality of Monaco has made a contribution to the SDG Fund, an inter-agency and multi-donor mechanism. With this support, and in collaboration with several UN Agencies, athletes, sports teams and institutions, the SDG Fund will initiate a new area of engagement dedicated to the theme of sports and development. The program, the SDG Fund Global Initiative on Sports and Sustainable Development will tackle school absenteeism and reduce juvenile delinquency through sports-based interventions in low-income areas. It will also focus on other issues to reduce gender based violence and provide leadership skills training. Initially the global program will begin with a pilot project in several African countries, designed to promote a holistic approach to empowering young people through the use of sports. The project will also offer much needed mentoring and community sporting programs to advance the values of tolerance and reaffirm the importance of active and healthy lifestyles. In addition, the program will create a team of youth leaders and offer a training component designed to engage young people with local sports clubs.
Teamwork and fair play can go a long way in building self-esteem and equal opportunities for boys and girls
Paloma Duran
SDG Fund Director
“We are truly excited about the many prospects linked to this new initiative, especially given the inherent values of sports. We know that teamwork and fair play can go a long way in building self-esteem and equal opportunities for boys and girls. More importantly, we know that in many regions, sports can also be a way forward in promoting peace and greater social inclusion,” said Paloma Duran, Director of the Sustainable Development Goals Fund.
Uniquely, the SDG Fund is already investing in 23 countries engaging a wide variety of stakeholders and industry sectors. Created in 2014 by UNDP to support sustainable development activities, it is the first SDG mechanism working to implement joint programs at the country level. The SDG Fund works to establish greater collaboration among UN agencies and in bringing public and private sectors into the forefront of the Universal Agenda. A number of successful multi-stakeholder partnerships are now underway, building the case for deepening engagement with new actors.
Media Contact Information:
SDG Fund: Karen Newman – karen.newman [at] undp.org, tel. 917 297 2210
Link to resolution, Sport as a means to Promote Education
