April, 2014

Next Step Conference in Delhi in February 2014 – A Review

A little more than a month has passed since the Next Step Conference 2014 of UNOSDP took place in Delhi splendidly hosted by Magic Bus. Perhaps a good time to recap on the results with a view from a little distance.

Activity during field visit, Delhi, Feb. 2014

Next Step 2014 aimed to be a forum to facilitate the exchange of ideas and concrete ways in which to make effective Sport for Development programmes. By providing a platform the intent was to bring together the perspectives of sports for development that stretch beyond the sports field and further global partnerships for development. To forestall the core result: Most of it has been achieved. Around 400 stakeholders of the regional and international Sports-For-Development scene came together for four intense conference days, reflecting the different stakeholder groups such as grassroots-level practitioners, students, academics, public or governmental institutions, sports associations, sports women and sports men, intermediates, institutional funders and corporates. All these protagonists formed that vibrant and complementary mesh leading to a productive and unconventional get-together across roles and levels. No wonder that there were a few key findings to take home:

Sports-For-Development has entered the growth phase

The conference presented multiple impressive project examples from different parts of the world. Most of them are using similar programme principles. Many new projects evolve and existing projects replicate or scale into new geographies. One can state that S4D has become a global “market standard” in youth development. And it is perhaps the strongest developmental approach existing to holistically educate and empower children, groups, societies and whole countries. No other approach is comparable in terms of efficiency and scalability.

Sports-For-Peace is not leveraged as a methodology

We are just beginning to understand the potential of sports based programmes in post conflict contexts. A few pioneer projects are source of valuable learnings and inspiration. A comprehensive base of empiric and academic information is not yet available. Compared to S4D only a little space was given to S4P on the Next Step 2014. On the contrary the number of trouble spots in the world seems not to lessen at all.

Existing Limitations and Next Steps

The conference was a conversation on existing limitations in the sector and possible steps to overcome them. The perception from corridor talks between the conference sessions was, that many and especially new or smaller organizations face similar problems. The institutionalization of a programme in the seed phase and later its scaling in the growth phase typically involve big challenges. On the other hand it is very desirable that new and local initiatives evolve and become an integral part of the sector. Only in this way the sector is constantly nourished with new impulses, local access and expertise as well as new, inspiring and hardworking personalities. Resulting questions are: How can collaboration beyond projects, institutions, countries and sectors actively being promoted? How can asymmetric partners in terms of network access, size, resources and influence learn from each other and complement one another? Is there a way to elaborate national and global strategies or recommendations for the S4D sector that provide guidance for setting goals and priorities, for allocating resources, initiating projects and partnerships?

_____________
Author:
Clifton Rajesh Grover
Kick into Life Foundation, www.kickinsleben.org
Kick for Tolerance e.V., www.kickfortolerance.org
e-mail: clifton@kickinsleben.org

The NCFA’s Football & Peace Projects are gathering interest from around the world.  We hear from one of the many Football & Peace supporters taking part in the Peace Day Celebrations in Kent.  

My name is Thorven Lucht and I am 40 years old, married with two children (twins). I am a teacher of English, History and Ethics at Humboldt-Gymnasium Bad Pyrmont. At the school I also run the football program – with the help of a group of “junior coaches” (pupils from years 10 to 12 who help with training and organization). This is the perfect way to combine many of my main interests: the English language, historical education, football and working with young people.

Our school is a “Gymnasium”, which is basically an “academic high school”, preparing the students for college. We have around 950 pupils from grade 5 to 12, so between appr. 10 and 18 years of age. Bad Pyrmont is a rather small town of about 22,000 people, located between Hanover and Bielefeld. Our school puts a lot of emphasis on extracurricular activities – often in cooperation with local organizations and clubs. We are also an “inclusive” school, accommodating the needs of students with physical handicaps. Around 15% of our pupils are from immigrant families, mostly from Poland, Russia, Turkey and Pakistan, which makes Bad Pyrmont somewhat less multicultural than bigger German cities.

Is your school looking forward to visiting England and taking part in the Football & Peace Day Celebration?

I can assure you that everyone is tremendously looking forward to this event – the school community as a whole and of course especially the pupils who will have a chance to participate. International contacts are very important for our school. We run regular exchanges with schools in Poland, Italy, Sweden, France and Ireland and are always grateful for more chances to establish new contacts and friendships. The Football & Peace Day is a great idea and a great opportunity for our pupils.

What are the plans to commemorate the First World War in Germany, in particularly your school?

There are a lot of exhibitions and commemorative events at the local and regional level. There is also a noticeable focus on the First World War in the media. The federal government is planning joint events with the French government on August 3rd. At our school, we will put a focus on the First World War in the history curriculum, and various tenth-grade classes will be doing research projects on the history of Bad Pyrmont at that time.

Do children at your school learn about the 1914 Christmas Truce? If so, what do you teach them?

The Christmas Truce is not a mandatory part of the curriculum, but individual teachers often deal with the topic in 9th/10th grade history, 7th-grade bilingual history or in various Religion and Ethics classes. Sometimes it is taught in English classes, often using popular songs about the event. Often the movie “Merry Christmas” (2005) is used in classes. The emphasis is on the symbolic implications of the “Christmas Truce”, as well as on the situation of the young men at the front.

How important is sport for young German children?

In general, still very important, with football and handball being the most popular sports. Former “trend sports” such as tennis and basketball have become somewhat less fashionable. In a town like Bad Pyrmont probably more than half the pupils are members of a sports club. The football program at our school is very popular with girls and boys of all ages.

To what extent does football and sport play a part in German education?

There are regular P.E. classes (2 lessons a week, 3 in the lower grades), as well as school teams which can participate in competitions in more than 20 different sports. The latter are very much dependent on individual teachers who invest their free time into practice times and tournaments, often on weekends. So the extent to which schools participate varies widely.

As for football, there are many different tournaments offered by the State, local Bundesliga clubs (our school is an official partner school for Werder Bremen, for example), or Universities. The German football association offers a lot of help and resources to the schools, for example they train “junior coaches” and young referees and offer seminars and training materials and guidelines to school football coaches.

As stated above, with the help of many “junior coaches”, we manage to offer school football for all age groups – at a competitive level but also often for non-competitive events and projects, sometimes with an international dimension.

Can you tell the National Children’s Football Alliance why you think it is important that children learn about the Christmas Truce and Why this visit to the Football & Peace Day Celebration will benefit your children?

 As stated above, the Christmas truce teaches important lessons about the human spirit. It shows that there is a universal longing for peace, and as an act of disobedience and resistance it is unique and uniquely moving. It contrasts impressively with the patriotic madness that swept over Europe at the outbreak of the First World War. The Football and Peace Day Celebration will commemorate this event and will be held in a similar spirit of peace and friendship. That alone will probably be a very impressive experience for our children – hopefully enriched by many valuable encounters with young people from other countries. We are truly grateful that we can be a part of this. 

For more information please click on http://www.humboldt-gymnasium.de/joomla/