Sport as an Instrument for People Development and Peace Promotion

Abstract

In the last decade a growing number of initiatives using sport as tool to stimulate personal and social improvements have been implemented in developing countries. This new sector of sport utilization which has received a lot of attention and recognition by the international community is defined as the Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) movement. In this review, the basic features of the SDP phenomenon, the steps towards its official recognition, and the basic characteristics of the projects delivered will be outlined. Moreover, the usefulness of measuring the impact of the activities implemented and the expected contribution of the academic community to this new and stimulating reality will be further discussed in the conclusions.