Economic and Social Development Sports and Society
Sport has played an important role in society for thousands of years. Around the world, it brings people together from all backgrounds and all walks of life. The UN even recognises the benefits of sport as a ‘low-cost and high-impact tool in humanitarian, development and peace-building efforts… an important investment in the present and future’.Â
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Around the world, sport works as a positive tool in a number of key development areas, including education, health, peace, gender, nation building and wider cultural and economic development. Around the world there, for instance, stories of the use of football as a medium for HIV education, and social inclusion of women. Sport has been credited with everything from supporting to the rehabilitation of disaster/conflict survivors and the reintegration of former child-soldiers.
At the same time, sport is a huge, global industry, the integrity and ethics of which is vital to it's sustainability. The governance of sport is not just about the huge, global bodies that have been the focus of so much recent attention. Within every country and at every level, sport must be governed. Sometimes it is run as a business, at other times it is state funded – but it should always have effective oversight.
Strong, insightful media coverage is a vital part of this.
The Thomson Reuters Foundation is committed to fostering the highest standards of journalism worldwide. We believe accurate, impartial and independent journalism leads to better-informed societies. It holds power to account, strengthens the rule of law and contributes to economic and social development.
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