YDS to host Sports for Development Conference 2012

By George Osei

Youth for Development through Sports (YDS), a network of NGOs that uses sport as a tool for development, would held a sports for development conference later this month to highlight on the challenges facing the industry and find possible solutions.

The Conference comes on June 27 ? 28 at the National Hockey Stadium, Accra and is expected to be attended by resource persons and experts practitioners in the field of Sports for Development.

The programme would seek to delve into the concept of sports for development; identify the advantages and disadvantages and map out effective strategies to create the needed awareness for all stakeholders, decision makers and the general public.

It?s objective includes examining the positive role sports plays in social development, draw the attention of government, corporate bodies, private sector, press and the wider public to the positive contribution of sports in promoting development initiatives.

Also, it would bring together experts and stake holders who work in the areas of development education or awareness raising campaigns using sports as a tool to address social development and the Millennium Development Goals among children and young people.

The Conference would seek to build good networking among NGOs in Sports for Development; build the capacity of NGOs in Sports in Development in certain areas of operation including marketing and monitoring/evaluation among others.

The YDS is hosting this Conference to also address some misconceptions being held be some that NGOs in this industry, are only out there to make money for the fun of it and that there is no need for government and donor agencies to fund them.

According to the YDS, there is the need for a massive public education to justify the allocation of significant funds on Sport for Development and the Conference would educate participants on why governments can be made aware of how sport can be used to achieve their objectives, thereby enlisting their support.

The success stories of some of these NGOs and how they have helped shaped the communities their work in, would be highlighted as well as what role the media can play to address some of these misconceptions.

How to start a Sport for Development programme in communities, effective monitoring/evaluation and a practical demonstration of the YDS toolkit would also be a constant feature at the Conference.

Source: George Osei (okotosports@yahoo.com)