Sport as a tool kit for peace, culture and environment

Abstract

The present study aims to introduce, investigate and promote the role of sport as a lowcost, complementary tool which may be used with other instruments, contributing to an atmosphere of peace, cross-cultural education, and sustainable environment. The first chapter discusses the role of sport as a tool kit for peace. Sport can be an instrumental driving force in creating positive development change whereby all actors work together bringing their various skills into play. Also, it is acknowledged and worldwide accepted that sport is a universal language, a significant economic force, a cost-effective tool for preventive medicine, a key component of social life, a “bridge” of cultural and ethnic divides, a compelling symbol of peace, and an organic core value. Nevertheless, sport is considered to be a reflection of human society and therefore may also encompass some of the worst human traits such as violence, corruption, hooliganism, cheating, drug abuse, and excessive nationalism. However, these negative aspects of sport do not overlay its potential positive benefits. Furthermore, sport and peace are not only human rights and human needs, but also two factors that can cooperate together to establish sustainable development and build a better world, fighting poverty, violence, and diseases. Moreover, well-designed sport activities and programs that are used all over the world with the help of agencies, governments and organizations such as the United Nations (UN) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), alongside the International Olympic Committee (IOC), incorporate the best values of sport such as fair play, tolerance, respect, friendship, and excellence. Therefore, sport is used as a tool to build human and societal capital, and prevent conflicts at the community and societal level. Specifically, sport and peace programs increase knowledge and awareness about truce and peaceful coexistence; promote social inclusion; and provide an alternative to participation in criminal gangs and armed militia. Sport helps to re-integrate refugees, migrants, internally displaced persons, and asylum seekers; it can empower homeless people; it can bring together opposing groups; and it can establish peace in post-conflict situations. The second chapter presents sport as a tool kit for culture and education. Sport, games and play evolved as part of the cultural process. The role of sport as a key component of child development is highlighted, along with the associated aspects related to sport, play and recreation, such as the right to participate, the freedom of expression and the right to engage freely in cultural life. Also, the case of Olympic Games is examined and analyzed in terms of a worldwide, mass communication phenomenon with the ability to bring people together from different nations and exchange different cultures. The Olympics, supported by a global network of organizations with an educational and intercultural remit, incorporate 100 years of Olympic cultural and arts programming. The same chapter includes the contribution of the Cultural Olympiads, the Olympic symbols, the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, the Torch Relay and the Youth Olympic Games (YOG), alongside Sport and Olympic Education to the promotion of culture and education across the globe. Finally, the third chapter demonstrates the role of sport and Olympic Games in the confrontation with environmental challenges like climate change and global warming, ozone depletion, air pollution, decline of biodiversity, deforestation and desertification, fresh water scarcity, soil deterioration, waste disposal and transport, natural resource depletion, and urbanization. Human beings are the only species on earth that are able to affect ecosystems on a grand scale. Therefore, sport and environment have proven to be common bedfellows and the relationship between them interactively dependent. On the one hand, sport can cause considerable damage to nature through infrastructure of arenas, air, soil and water pollution, and waste generation; on the other hand, sport cannot occur and develop in a polluted, damaged environment. The IOC, using the popularity of sports, was one of the first sporting organizations to raise environmental awareness among the public, presented a “green face” to the world through sport, and implement Agenda 21 for sustainable development all over the world. All the available strategies that use sport as a tool kit for peace, culture and environment are examined in each chapter separately as to whether they are sufficient or not, and further recommendations are given. Conclusions are enriched with general findings, thoughts and proposals referring to the whole study and purport to uphold the main issues analyzed. Based upon these findings, the strong interaction between sport, peace, environment, culture and education is underlined.