Youth empowerment and development through sport

The Deputy Director of the Commonwealth Youth Programme, Mr Andrew Simmons and the Commonwealth Sports Adviser, Mr Martin Niblett were in India from 18 to 22 September to meet representatives from the Commonwealth Youth Sports Development Council in order to visit the proposed facilities and discuss various issues surrounding the Commonwealth Youth and Sports Congress which is to be held in Rohtak, Haryana in 2009.

Mr Simmons and Mr Niblett also held meetings with senior Government officials from the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports in Delhi aimed at developing greater links in the planning processes between the Congress and the forthcoming Commonwealth Youth Games in 2008 and the Commonwealth Games in 2010.

Both men also visited Rohtak University to see how the development work for the proposed Congress facilities was progressing and they were shown around the various sites and met some of the key personnel at the University.

Moreover, the trip was an opportunity for the CYP Deputy Director and Commonwealth Sports Adviser to visit the CYP Regional Centre in Chandigarh to discuss youth and sports development programmes following the inclusion of sport in the CYP Strategic Plan under the Youth Work Education and Training (YWET) programme.

Sport is a key part of the Commonwealth's identity. The Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) at their meeting in Malta in November 2005 stressed the important role of sports as an effective instrument for fostering community and youth development in terms of building character, tolerance and friendship, promoting fair and open competition, protecting integrity, reducing poverty, building democracy and reducing the impact of civil conflicts and tension.

According to Mr Niblett, “sport is extremely important to youth development. Sport is a very powerful tool, and plays a valuable role in the delivery and promotion of youth development. Sport can reach out to and attract youth from all sections of the community and it can be a great communicator to young people on issues such as HIV/AIDS awareness”.

Sport as a tool for development was also endorsed by Commonwealth Sports Ministers at the meeting in Canada in March, and Commonwealth Youth Ministers at the meeting in Nassau, The Bahamas in May 2006.

Currently, numerous research evidences suggest that sports development programmes can be instrumental in broadening opportunities for enhancing the socio-economic well-being of young people and their communities. One such organisation involved in the delivery of sports development programmes is the Commonwealth Youth Sports Development Council.
 
The Commonwealth Youth Sports Development Council (CYSDC) was founded in 2004 by the Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Centre (JNST), the premier sports body functioning in India for the last two decades and striving for improving the standards of sports and providing opportunities to upcoming sports men and women and youngsters. CYSDC is the joint effort of Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Trust and other sports bodies in Commonwealth countries who share similar aims and objectives including countries such as Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the West Indies.

CYSDC is planning to stage the first Commonwealth Youth and Sports Congress (CYASC) in India in 2009. The event has been inspired by Mr Andrew Simmons, Deputy Director of CYP, who finishes his last term at the Commonwealth Secretariat in mid-October. The event is unique in concept – no similar event has ever been conducted by a sports federation – international or national, or a community development anywhere in the world in the style and content of CYASC. The event will include major track and field disciples, such as football, hockey, boxing, swimming to name a few. A great number of Commonwealth countries, 30 in total, are expected to take part with 2,500 participants expected in total.  

“Youth Empowerment Through Sports” will be the theme of the project as well as promoting Commonwealth values of peace, democracy, equality, good governance; sustainable development and poverty eradication. During the event, participants will attend ‘workshops’ arranged by CYSDC in which subjects such as Aids awareness, gender equality, leadership, environmental matters, world peace, sports medicine, prevention and cure of sports injuries, nutrition/personal hygiene and eradication of polio will be given by Commonwealth Youth Programme advisers and eminent academicians and other specialists on behalf of CYSDC.      

Speaking on the uniqueness of CYSDC, Mr Simmons stated “The Commonwealth Youth Sports Development Council is doing excellent work in sports and the Secretariat is pleased to offer technical support and advice to help make the event a great success."
 
The Congress is due to be held in 2009 but if young people are interested in participating or volunteering for the event, they should contact either Mr Martin Niblett on m.niblett@commonwealth.int or the CYP Asia Regional Centre on admin@cypasia.org in the first instance and they will liaise with the Congress organising committee. However there should be plenty of opportunities for young people throughout the Commonwealth to get involved, and those interested should visit the CYP website as updated information about the progress of the event will be posted in the coming months.