Arenas of change: Frameworks for equity and empowerment on the field
Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair.
— Nelson Mandela, May 2000
A trip to the American suburbs will tell you all you need to know. The stereotype of the soccer mom driving a minivan past perfectly manicured lawns to pick up a team of children, fresh off the field from a long day of practice.
Scores of after-school programs designed to provide access to recreational activities in low-income neighborhoods also provide meaningful support in these often marginalized communities. Professional athletes take the off-season to attend camps, knowing that their influence could provide all the difference in a child’s future and expand youth opportunities.
A college essay reinforces this line of thought. A soon-to-be college athlete raves about all that sports has given them. The ability to be a team player. The time to form leadership skills. The effect that their coach had on their life.
This western-centric view of recreational after-school sports programs already has a positive reputation as a supplementary activity for school-aged kids. In fact, hundreds of millions of dollars a year are spent globally on adolescent empowerment and community risk management through sports.
Yet the power of sport in the lives of young people has even greater potential.
The role of sports and play in the development of adolescents is vastly under-researched and under-funded. And while there is a widely held belief of the positive benefits of participation in sports on its own, there may be much to learn from programs being implemented in developing countries where they integrate lessons and workshops into the game.
Sport for Development (S4D) — as it is known — uses sports to achieve crucial outcomes for children and youth, such as learning, health, empowerment, and protection.
Historically, the majority of these sports programs focus on skills commonly associated with sports, such as leadership and teamwork. These are important competencies for young people to develop, but sport can also provide a framework for learning and growth more associated with character and behavior development.
A study conducted in Tanzania by UCLA’s Global Lab for Research in Action in partnership with BRAC Tanzania aimed to improve the sexual and reproductive health and wellness of adolescents in the country. Three strategies were implemented: the provision of contraceptives, a goal-setting workshop for girls, and a boys soccer program with Grassroot Soccer.
Why was a soccer program integrated into a program that was interested in reducing unintended pregnancy, HIV/STIs, and intimate partner violence?
It may not be the most obvious choice but the results were surprising. While free contraceptives alone did not have a significant impact on targeted health outcomes, the soccer program and goal-setting activity made a significant impact across the 150 communities.
The girls participated in goal setting workshops, and their male partners completed the soccer program. While participating in play, the boys were taught lessons on risky behavior, HIV/STIs, and intimate partner violence. As a result, there was a significant decrease in female reports of intimate partner violence and a shift in cultural norms regarding how boys viewed violence against girls.
Sport for Development can be used to tackle a broad range of challenges from sexual health and gender equity in Tanzania to work readiness and employability in Kenya, social inclusivity with focuses on differently-abled folks and refugee communities, safe spaces for vulnerable children, and disaster relief. The powerful potential of these programs lie in their cost-effectiveness, replicability on a global scale, and the ability to provide agency and autonomy that other intervention programs may not be able to sustainably practice.
However, while Sport for Development may be widely utilized, it has the potential to offer so much more to youth development, not just in developing countries, but across the world. A survey conducted by UNICEF found that though most S4D programs were based in Africa, most programs were limited to higher-income countries and those programs mostly focused on empowerment, inclusivity, and the reduction of antisocial behavior.
While the field of Sport for Development is under-studied, the research that has been undertaken shows impactful results and powerful potential to improve the lives of young people around the world. Governments around the world also recognize this potential, from Germany to Colombia, to Sri Lanka — so where do we go from here?
There needs to be an investment in expanding the breadth of these programs; to test new pilot programs that tackle issues never-before-attempted through sport. There needs to be room for failure and funding to study what works, what doesn’t, and how we might replicate and scale programs across countries. As the available research grows, we can start to better demonstrate how to maximize the potential of these programs to tackle not only empowerment, but gender equity, health equity, sustainability, and so much more.
Karlinna Sanchez is an intern at the Global Lab for Research in Action, Vice President of the Bruin Film Society, and a UCLA Residential Life Assistant, Sanchez will be graduating from UCLA in June with a B.A. in Public Affairs.
Janine N’jie David is Co-founder & Deputy Director of the Global Lab for Research in Action. With more than a decade of experience as a nonprofit leader, Janine specializes in cross-sector partnerships with a special interest in creating equality for women and girls globally. Janine has held senior leadership positions at Spark, a national youth mentoring organization, and Plan UK, a global children’s rights organization, where her work took her to Zambia, Malawi, Sierra Leone, and India. Janine holds a Masters in Public Policy (MPP) from UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs .
If you are interested in learning more about how the Global Lab transforms research into action, please contact us at [email protected].
[This article was originally published on Medium.]
Activity