Timeline of major developments in Sport & Development

The field of Sport & Development has emerged and continues to evolve as a result of major international policy developments. Below is a chronological list of some of the key milestones that have occured over the past few decades, putting Sport as a tool for development on an international agenda.
1978 – UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation) General Conference adopts the International Charter of Physical Education and Sport

1997 – Heads of State and Government of the European Commission focus special attention on sport during the Amsterdam treaty negotiations, during which it was stated that "the Conference emphasises the social significance of sport, in particular its role in forging identity and bringing people together".

2001 – UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan appoints Mr. Adolf Ogi (former President of the Swiss Confederation) as the first Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace to enhance the network of relations between UN organisations and the sports sector.

2002 – The UN Secretary-General convenes the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Sport for Development and Peace to review activities that involve sport within the UN system.

2003 – First International Conference on Sport & Development, Magglingen, Switzerland. The conference was the first international, high-level event on Sport & Development, involving participants from sports federations, governments, UN agencies, the media, athletes, business and civil society.

2003 – First Next Step conference: ‘International Expert Meeting on Development in and through Sport’, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. On a different level to the Magglingen conference series, the Next Step conference was established to target practitioners, mostly at the grassroots level, to share experiences and best practices in Sport & Development.

2004 – Roundtable forum: Harnessing the Power of Sport for Development and Peace, Athens, Greece. The roundtable forum was hosted during the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens and brought together political leaders and experts in development to discuss the potential of sport in achieving development goals. The roundtable forum laid the cornerstones for establishing the Sport for Development and Peace International Working Group (SDPIWG) creating a new policy framework for the use of sport for development and peace.

2005 – International Year of Sport and Physical Education (IYSPE) 2005 is proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations.

2005 – The Sport for Development and Peace International Working Group (SDPIWG) is formed, with representatives from Ministers of Sport, Youth and Development from 15 countries, directors of UN agencies, and NGOs in the field of Sport for Development and Peace.

2005 – Second Magglingen Conference on Sport & Development, Magglingen, Switzerland.

2005 – Second Next Step conference, Livingstone, Zambia.

2007 – Third conference ‘The Next Step’, Windhoek, Namibia.

July 2007 – European Commission publishes a White Paper on Sport stating it will promote the use of sport as a tool for development in international development policy.

January 2008 – IOC and the UN agree on an expanded framework for action to use sport to reach the goals of the UN.

2008 – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon appoints Mr. Wilfried Lemke as the new Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace, after Mr. Adolf Ogi steps down.