Discussion Forum on Sport for Development and Peace

 

We believe that we have something to share and learn from each other, be it students or lectures, government or non-governmental organisations from all over the world.

 

We hope that by discussing issues related to sport for development and peace we may increase our understanding about it.

 

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Monthly sessions - Spring 2007 program
We appreciated your proposals concerning possible topics and presenters, and we have tried to accomodate as many as possible of your suggestions when making the programme. So, we hope that we have managed to create a programme with interesting topics which will attract you and others to attend some of our sessions!

 

 

Date and time: Tuesday, 30th January, 18.15-19.45h
Venue: University of Oslo, Blindern, Eilert Sundts hus (SV building), auditorium 7 (ground floor), Molkte Moes vei 31.

 

In cooperation with U-landsseminaret (Centre for Development and the Environment) at the University of Oslo and Norwegian Students’ and Academics’ International Assistance Fund.

Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) is an approach which has been put on the agenda of international development cooperation in recent years. Amongst others a UN report called “Sport for Development and Peace

- "Towards Achieving the Millennium Development Goals” was published in 2003. It urged all UN organizations to consider how to integrate sports activities into their existing programmes.

 

The role of sport in development interventions is justified on various grounds. It is claimed that sport provides arenas for individual and community empowerment, for building democratic community structures and bridges across ethnic boundaries. It is also claimed that it is a powerful tool for conveying messages about HIV/AIDS
and other health matters.

But are these claims true? Is it an innovative approach which manages to achieve development goals in a more effective way? Or is it a new white elephant which is kept alive by myths? Myths that speak about the global and unifying language of sport creating friendship and peace?

 

Myths about sport as a teacher of universal values of team spirit, fair play, and hard work? Is it rather so that SDP can further new cultural imperialism by promoting “western development“ through the structures of western sports? In other words, what does SDP do in practice? And what ideologies are hiding behind the facade?

 

Presenters:

- Bjørn Omar Evju, head of international department, Norwegian Olympic Committee and Confederation of Sports

 

- Anne Leseth, university lecturer at Institute of Social Anthropology, University of Oslo

 

- Oscar Mwaanga, president of the Education through Sport Foundation (EduSport) in Zambia

 

 

Date and time: Tuesday, 13th February, 14-16h
Venue: Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Sognsveien 220 (room to be announced)

Football academies in Africa have become an important arena for developing talented players, and they are gaining popularity among young players as well as European clubs looking for tomorrow‘s stars.

The presentation draws on empirical examples from a football academy in Ghana and asks: How is Europe as a preferred destination for migration constructed by the players in interaction with representatives of the European football industry?

 

What do these images contain? Can sports development projects in Africa create similar images of Europe and the West? If so, what can be the implications for the use of sport in development work?

 

Fredrik Ødegaard, Master student at Institute of Social Anthropology, University of Oslo

Date and time: Tuesday, 13th March, 14-16h
Venue: Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Sognsveien 220 (room to be announced)

 

A study from 2005 (Säfvenbom & Sookermany) concludes that a majority of armed forces operating in conflict areas abroad seem to use physical activity and sports rather conventionally within their own forces, and that there is less activity between coalition forces, and in relation with local inhabitants.

 

However, the study confirms that physical activity is considered as a proper vehicle to improve interpersonal communication between local inhabitants and foreign armed forces. Based on this study it would seem that national armed forces have
considerable potential for positive outcomes by using expanded and unconventional physical activity programs.

Based on the study, the presentation will question the use of sport and physical activity within a military context: Why, (and how) should military peace supporting forces use sports and physical activity as a tool for their
mission?

Reidar Säfvenbom, Institute of Defence, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences

Date and time: Tuesday, 17th April, 14-16h
Venue: Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Sognsveien 220 (room to be announced)

 

The Norway Cup Project is run by the Norwegian Olympic Committee and Confederation of Sports. Each year five youth football teams from developing countries as well as five Norwegian teams are selected as participants, and take part in the project for two weeks around the Norway Cup.

 

The official goal of the Norway Cup Project is to strengthen activities in their partner organizations in the South. But does the project achieve this goal? What do the participants experience during their stay in Norway, and how
do these experiences affect their activities at home? Does the setup of the project represent an equal partnership?

The presentation is based on findings from research done in Zimbabwe and Norway in 2005, as well as experiences from the 2006 project.

Håvard Ellingsen, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences

Date and time: Tuesday, 15th May, 14-16h
Venue: Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Sognsveien 220 (room to be announced)

 

Since the establishment of the United Nations 60 years ago the world has witnessed one-sided communication between the North and the South. The power to make important decisions that affect the South has effectively been located in the rich countries of the North - a fact which is in contradiction with the UN charter.

 

The unbalanced relationship between North and South reveals a number of paradoxes that make themselves felt, among others, in the field of international aid and development. The North has been construed as “developed“, while the South has been seen as needing help to rise out of its “underdevelopedness“.

In contrast to this dynamic, Barth Niava has worked with importing African dancing expertise to Norway for 30 years. His experiences are a starting point for asking the fundamental questions: Who is “developed“ and “underdeveloped“? In which way? And what are the consequences for the way the international field of sport for
development is structured or should be structured?

Barth Niava, Centre for the Promotion of African Culture