Sports for Development Center - School of Sport and Leisure (S4DC - ESDL)

Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) is a field characterized by theoretical pluralism, and for the S4DC-ESDL the SDP is defined as “the use of sport to exert a positive influence on public health, the socialisation of children, youths and adults, the social inclusion of the disadvantaged, the economic development of regions and states, and on fostering intercultural exchange and conflict resolution”¹. The activities promoted aim to use sport as a tool to achieve, for example, empowerment, peace building, health education, gender equality, and social inclusion of people with disabilities.

S4DC-ESDL Mission
To promote sport as a vehicle for development and peace, contributing to the construction of a socially more just and equitable world.

S4DC-ESDL objectives

• Promote projects and technical assistance services where sport and Olympic values are used as tools for development, peace and social change;
• Promote the production of knowledge and teaching about sport for development, peace and social change;
• Create and strengthen networks/ partnerships to deepen knowledge about sport for development, peace and social change;
• Promote the transfer of knowledge, skills and resources in the field of sport for development, peace and social change;
• Promote capacity development in sport for development, peace and social change;
• Function as a hub in Portugal in the promotion of sport and Olympic values ​​as tools for development, peace and social change;

S4DC-ESDL values

• Global citizenship;
• Multidisciplinarity;
• Interculturality;
• Solidarity;
• Excellence;
• Friendship;
• Respect.

S4DC-ESDL views sport as a form of lifelong learning where children, young people and adults acquire life skills that help them cope with everyday challenges and actively shape their lives.

The S4DC-ESDL approach is based on the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:

• • Health: Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all, at all ages (SDG 3);
• Education: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all (ODS 4);
• Women and girls: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls (ODS 5);
• Employability: Develop transferable skills for employment (ODS 8);
• Inclusive Society: Promote communities that embrace ethnic, cultural and physical differences (ODS 11);
• Peaceful societies: Promote conflict resolution, peace and the creation of safe spaces (ODS 16).

The intervention of the S4DC-ESDL will always take into account the specificities of the context in which it develops the projects taking in to account the founding principles of sport for development, peace and social change. The S4DC-ESDL considers that sport promotes people well-being contributing to the building of a socially fair and equitable society. The well-being is based a holistic understanding of people's physical, psychological and emotional needs, as well as their dignity as human beings.

The S4DC-ESDL promotes the use of multiple sports, including adventure / action sports. This stems from the fact that adventure / action sports have their own cultural rules, with norms and a value system that must be respected. This includes, but is not limited to, an anti-authoritarian, non-competitive, individualistic and creative environment².

The strategic areas for the next biennium are technical assistance, mobility, research and teaching.

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¹ Lyras, A. Peachey, J. W. (2011) Integrating sport-for-development theory and praxis. Sport Management Review. 14(4) 311-326.
² Thorpe, H. (2016). Action sports for youth development: Critical insights for the SDP community. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 8, 91-116.

contacts:
Ricardo Lima (coordinator) ricardo.lima@esdl.ipvc.pt
Rui da Silva (co-coordinator) rmanuelsilva@esdl.ipvc.pt

Tel. +351 258 809 678