The Long Road Home

What’s it all about - thanks to ‘Right To Play’ for the words below:

Sport for development evolved out of the growting evidence that strengthening the right of children to play enhances their healthy devlopment and builds stronger communities. Sport is now recognised as an effective tool in the pursuit of development and peace.

1. Well designed sport and play programmes put children on a positive path to healthy development. Regular physical activity and play are essential for physical, mental, psychological and social development.

2. Sport and play improve health and wellbeing, extend life expectancy, and can reduce the likelihood of disease.

3. Sport and play also serve as tools to teach important values and life skills including self confidence, team work, communication, inclusion, discipline, respect, and fair play. Sport also has psychological benefits such as reducing depressing and improving concentration.

4. Sport has a positive impact on child educatoin. Physical education typically improves a child’s ability to learn. Children can learn better when they are having fun and being active.

5. The skills and values learned through sport and play are especially important for girls, given that they may have fewer opportunities than boys for social interaction outside the home. Through sport, girls can be given the chance to be leaders, to improve their self-confidence and self-esteem, acquire new interpersonal links and access new opportunities.

6. The popularity and convening power of sports provides a powerful tool for reaching people and communicating important messages - including messages of health and peace. Sport brings people together, and has the potential to cross boundaries and open new dialogue. Many of the core values of sport parallel those necessary for peace, such as courage, respect, justice and honesty.