116 Countries agree on new International Action Plan

UNESCO’s sixth international governmental conference on physical education and sport, MINEPS VI, showed broad support for a new action plan aiming at strengthening sport and physical education.

With an ambition to strengthen sport’s integrity, inclusivity, and its contribution to the UN goals for sustainable development, 116 member countries of UNESCO endorsed the ‘Kazan Action Plan’ at the end of the sixth International Conference of Ministers and Senior Officials Responsible for Physical Education and Sport.

The action plan, which is named after the host city of the conference, Kazan in Russia, encourages the countries to acknowledge 20 political goals grouped in three main policy areas:

• Developing a comprehensive vision of inclusive access for all to sport, physical education and physical activity
• Maximising the contributions of sport to sustainable development and peace
• Protecting the integrity of sport

Among the specific political goals are the enforcement of gender equality, the fostering of inclusive participation and the establishment of multi-stakeholder partnerships. Moreover, the action plan links sport and physical education to the UN Agenda 2030 on sustainable development goals by pointing at how sport can contribute to a number of factors such as:

• Improved health and well-being through increased interest in physical activities
• Unified city environments and inclusive societies through safe spaces and encouraged levels of integration
• Education and employability opportunities with mentor-run innovative programs and initiatives
• Stronger notions of equality, peace and social justice in diverse communities united through organised sport     

Finally, the Kazan Action Plan lists five political goals on the integrity of sport: It highlights the need to ensure and strengthen the combat against doping and match-fixing, and to foster good governance among sports organisation. Moreover, it establishes the responsibility of governments to safeguard athletes, spectators and workers as well as to protect children, youth and other vulnerable groups.

The international director of Play the Game, Jens Sejer Andersen, was as one of the keynote speakers invited to talk about the integrity of sport.

Andersen suggested that governments should engage all local stakeholders in shaping a national strategy for sport, including the integrity issues. He also suggested that governments could re-distribute public grants, so they reflect the outcomes of the adapted strategy and link the grants to criteria for good governance in the supported organisations. Finally, he stressed that governments must make sure that the public debate on sport is truly open and welcomes the best facts, the best scientific data, and the best personal experiences available.