International Day of Sports for Development and Peace Unifying power of sports   |08 April 2022

Minister Zialor addressing guests during yesterday’s forum (Photos: Joena Meme)

• The connective tissue that binds people together both across and within communities

In an often divided world, sport is a unique and important connective tissue that binds people together both across and within communities, regardless of background or beliefs, while over the years it has played a key role in personal development and unifying society at large.

To commemorate this year’s International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP), which takes place annually on April 6 and presents an opportunity to recognise the positive role sport and physical activity play in communities and in people’s lives across the globe, the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Family hosted a forum, gathering key figures and representatives within the local sports fraternity. The theme chosen for the forum was ‘Securing a sustainable and peaceful future for all: The contribution of sport’.

The event, which took place yesterday at the Savoy Resort & Spa in Beau Vallon, was aimed at promoting the spirit of working together towards sports development in Seychelles to empower and strengthen sport values such as peace, compassion and unity today for a better tomorrow.

It was officially launched by the Minister for Youth, Sports and Family Marie-Celine Zialor, in the presence of principal secretary for Youth and Sports Ralph Jean-Louis, his counterpart for Family Clive Roucou, chief executive of the National Sports Council (NSC) Jean Larue, chief executive of the Seychelles National Youth Council (SNYC) Penny Belmont and the president of the Seychelles Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association (Socga) Antonio Gopal.

Launching the working session, Minister Zialor noted that it has been proven that sports are an important tool in addressing social issues including community development, well-being, health, education, societal equity, sustainability and peace.

She explained that sport is part of the society as an educational aspect, while it also forms part of human and social development.

This, she said, creates a sense of social unity, tolerance and integration, while it can also be the perfect vehicle for physical and socio-economic development.

In terms of the link between sports and the economy, Minister Zialor explained that with the right assessment and planning, sports have the potential to contribute a lot economically, thus becoming one of the main pillars, especially through sports tourism.

In his address, PS Jean-Louis noted that with the newly set goals for sports development in Seychelles, the know-how and expertise of the local sports fraternity is much needed in pushing sports forward.

He explained that his department is planning on using them as an advisory group, sharing their expertise in various areas, including at grassroots level – the training of physical education (PE) teachers – to boost the base of local sports development.

PS Jean-Louis further added that it is not acceptable, or wise to just ignore the group and its bag of knowledge since it has been acquired through government investment in their training, and it is normal to invite them onboard to give back whatever skills gained.

Referring to the chosen theme for the forum ‒ Securing a sustainable and peaceful future for all: The contribution of sports ‒ PS Jean-Louis further noted that sports and recreation activity positively contribute towards many of the factors which build social cohesion, meaning the bond that brings society together and facilitates good relationship between and within communities.

On behalf of the NSC, Mr Larue shared with those present the council’s strategic plan 2021-2025 and the vision states that “Sports are embedded in the Seychelles culture as a mean to enhance healthy living, develop physical and sporting skills in order to bolster personal and economic growth.”

The mission of the NSC includes broadening opportunities for participation in recreational and competitive sports for persons of all age groups; increasing facilities for sporting events at the national, community and school levels; increasing the number of trained coaches, administrators, and other personnel; establishing strong research capabilities in sports; developing advanced and innovative sports programmes; developing financial support systems to support and sustain elite athletes; developing supporting facilities and services to facilitate the holistic development of the professional athlete; strengthening the institutions for sport education and administration; and establishment of appropriate and effective policies, legislation and regulations to promote sports participation and competitions.

As for the eight set goals, they are community sports, leisure and sports for all (to increase the number of people of all ages participating in community sports, leisure, recreation and physical activities), competitive sports (to increase and improve the levels, quantities and quality of competitive sports of all sports federations), high performance sports (to strive for high-level international successes and sustaining elite athletes’ development), sports science, technology and medicine (to optimize the performances of athletes through direct application of leading-edge science, performance testing and monitoring, applied research and education), compliance and integrity (to ensure the core functions, responsibilities and mandate of sports are implemented and adhered to as per the sports act, sports policies, constitutions, and other legal documentations), international corporation and communications (to enhance the corporate relations image and brand of the organisation and maintain satisfactory customers services to the general public as well as other businesses), administration (to institutionalise M&E reporting systems, monitoring and evaluation for decision-making process), and finally management and maintenance of sports facilities (to establish and implement an integrated and coordinated maintenance and management system of sports facilities).

The International Day of Sport for Development and Peace was first celebrated in 2014 after the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution for the same in 2013.

The United Nations decided to mark the day on April 6 as on this very same day in 1896, the first-ever modern Olympics were held.

The day is significant because it aims to celebrate the contribution of sports and physical activity to education, leading a healthy lifestyle and making communities more active and cohesive.

With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, recovery from the disease and focus on the health of individuals has become of paramount importance.

Thus, sports have gained even more importance as a tool to bring people together.

The chosen theme for this year is ‘Securing a Sustainable and Peaceful Future for All: The Contribution of Sport’. The theme focuses on how sports help in securing a sustainable future and fighting climate change.

Roland Duval