by Joyce Yu*

09 March 2008

Dead Sea, Jordan: I am most pleased to accept the invitation to participate in this 4th IOC World Conference on Women and Sport.

This conference as an expression of the Olympic movement is a tribute to sport for all. The inclusion of women and girls and their empowerment is essential for any political, social or economic agenda.

Volunteerism is a vital component of successful amateur sports activities that foster the positive development of society. UNV actively supports sports-based development programmes, ranging from football coaching in Timor-Leste to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, in order to support national development objectives and advance the UN’s objectives of peace and development.

In particular, sports represent an opportunity to include and empower women and girls, which is essential for political, social and economic development. Communities and nations are recognizing that when they invest in sport, they are contributing to health, education, employment and moral development. When nations facilitate the development of sports, they are helping people to achieve a sense of belonging. When they support sports in all of its diversity and challenges, nations are building hope and dreams for the future as well.

Sport is a means to teach values and skills of fair play, teamwork, discipline, resilience and, in the Olympic spirit, national pride. These values parallel those needed for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and the broader peace and development agenda of the United Nations.

In 1997, the President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, stated that there is a profound role for sports in nation building and reconciliation.  UNV, in partnership with other UN organisations, has been using sports as a way to build trust and confidence across conflict groups in Haiti, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Burundi, Bosnia and many more.

Wide access to sports, especially for girls, is critical to the vitality and productivity of every society. Without volunteer efforts, this wide access and social inclusion is not possible. Moreover, expanding access to sports opportunities requires the participation of diverse volunteers.

Together with governments, UN partners and local organisations and individuals, UNV volunteers are active in sports programmes that are helping to restore post-conflict societies and engage youth and other marginalised sectors in society and in development activities.

UNV recently worked with UN and other partners to support the founding of the new nation of Timor-Leste. Alongside hundreds of volunteers who served as electoral advisers, architects and engineers to rebuild the war torn nation, we also deployed a volunteer from Bhanjed to serve as the first national football coach. Through this volunteer assignment, a national pastime was re-established which fostered unity in that newly-independent society.

In Haiti, at the Cite du Soleil, UNV work with UNICEF and with the Olympic Committee in a very innovative initiative on Sport and Development, supporting youth vulnerable to exploitation, violence and abuse. The project’s goal was to contribute to the establishment of a climate of peace and fraternity by including young people in sporting events (including across the border with the Dominican Republic). With the help of sports including football, volleyball, basketball and judo, hundred of boys and girls were able to enjoy a more balanced community life.

UNV volunteers celebrate International Volunteers Day (IVD) every December 5 together with other UN Agencies, NGOs and volunteer organizations. They often use sports to celebrate in locations such in Yemen, in refugee camps in Afghanistan and in Samoa at the South Pacific Games.

The concept of “sports for all” is a powerful objective for helping to achieve the greater inclusion of people in society and the promotion of good health. But without volunteers organizing sports events and nurturing and supporting the athletes, no amateur sports endeavour could succeed.

Sports and volunteerism are both life-affirming enterprises. Volunteerism is essentially optimistic. It is about human potential, striving for achievements and for betterment. UNV volunteers make three distinctive contributions that are all relevant to sports: access to opportunities and services and the delivery of services; inclusion and participation; and community mobilization through voluntary action.

In short, “sports for all” requires volunteerism for all ages, all races, all religions, all ethnic groups, all ability levels and all men and women. In order to bring more women into all levels of the sports world, we need a level playing field. We need volunteerism to be supported, nurtured and recognized worldwide.

UNV works to improve legislative frameworks and policies to create an enabling environment for volunteerism. We help to create regional volunteer schemes such as the “African Youth Corps” for which we are assisting the African Union. We also support volunteer centers and national schemes in many countries, and convene international and national stakeholders on the role and contributions of volunteerism to support the MDGs.

Another example of our partnerships is the one established with the Government of the People’s Republic China, the Beijing Olympics Volunteer Committee and the China Youth League, to support the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

The Olympic Games, as the pinnacle of amateur sports, is perhaps the clearest expression of the inter-related power of volunteerism and the power of sports to promote development and peace. Our road to Beijing includes support for training trainers about volunteer management and bringing the experience of Sydney, Turin and Salt Lake City to the Beijing organizers.

But our road map does not end at the Games. Our follow-up programme is intended to take the Olympic spirit one step further and to attract some of the 100,000 Chinese youth volunteers to continue their Olympic experience as responsible leaders, back in their communities as volunteers supporting local and national development efforts.

A call for sports for all is possible through volunteerism for all. By encouraging volunteerism, sports can be both empowering and inclusive, we can all contribute to social cohesion, peace and effective development.


*Joyce Yu is Deputy Executive Coordinator of United Nations Volunteers. This article is based on her speech to the 4th IOC World Conference on Women and Sport “Sport as a vehicle for social change”, Jordan, 9 March 2008.