Improving lives through sport

Sport is one of the most powerful tools to foster community development. Photo: Zoomfiji

A fomer colleague recently sent me a paper that I presented many moons ago on the power of sport to change lives for the better in small and developing countries. Whilst many of the examples in the paper, as well as some of the statistics, are dated - the hypothesis remains exactly the same today. That is - that sport remains one of the most powerful tools to foster community development in developing countries (indeed in all countries).

You can read the paper here to see my thoughts on the role of sport in developing communities and how I believe it should be used more in international aid programs to foster stronger communities. The paper was written on the basis of my experiences in the Pacific Islands and East Timor.

I recently read a piece by Australia's Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Julie Bishop, arguing for a stronger sporting diplomacy program under the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. You can read the Deputy Leader's piece by clicking here. I completely agree and I wish there was a great impetus amongst international donor countries to use sport to develop communities in developing countries around the world.

I'm very interest in the thoughts of others on this matter.