Topic: Using Global Sport as an Engine for Development
Country: Georgia
Delegate Name: Tyler Grubb
School: Forest Hills Eastern High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Georgia position papers GLIMUN 2016 committees
Many forms of world sport have become more prominent in recent years. Whether it is the Olympics or the NBA, sports have a way of bringing people together through culture and similar interests, creating larger platforms for economic growth. Events like the World Cup call for countries to develop an improved infrastructure spurring economic activity. The use of sport as an engine for development has become more popular over the last decade, but it has raised the issue of how it is benefitting the local economies. The costs to build the infrastructures to global sport stadiums often proves to be economic burdens to the host countries. The 2016 Olympics has caused Brazil to go around $1.6 billion dollars over budget leading to a second year of recession and rioting throughout most of Brazil leading up to the games. Although there are some drawbacks to having global sports, it allows nationalism and relations between countries to form. The United Nation have created an Office on Sport for Development and Peace. This office has passed a plan for 2030 to use sport, and it’s growing contribution to peaceful relations between countries, to create development in the world. Sport has become a common culture that has almost unanimous support as it is a large business nationally and internationally. As long as global sport is used as an effective and productive tool, it can create large economic developments in many nations.
Georgia has had representation in Olympics since 1996 and has won 19 medals. Our representation in these Olympics has shown our dedication to the sports of weightlifting, Judo, and the ancient sport of Roman wrestling. We believe involving global sport to the development of countries is best to our world. Bringing sports to developing countries will allow them to prosper and grow. Georgia’s Sport National Development Policies for 2014-2020 has three main goals for sport development. The first is to educate about sports and sports science. Our country has seen a raise in diseases, especially in our younger citizens, that have been linked to increasing when there is a lack of exercise. Georgia has also seen a decline of active activities since 2013, and many children are not educated in the area of being active. We believe the only way to solve these problems is change our sports system. We must create a unified system of sport in our country in order to involve adults, but mainly children. According to the Sport National Development Policy of Georgia sport is the most important section of these policies. To allow this to happen we must implement sport development and a long-term action plan. The second goal of this policy is to improve infrastructure for sort. We believe sport infrastructure is the basis for sports systems. In Georgia’s constitution our country is obliged to create and develop sport infrastructure. Once created by the government both young citizens and professional athletes will be have access to practice fields and complexes. Our third and final goal of our policy is to start legislative changes. We have joined forces with many other countries. Georgia is a part of the International Convention against Doping in Sport and our constitution states that the government must support the development of adolescents and their involvement in sport. We believe to achieve many of our Sport National Development Policy goals, the sports world must take a systematic approach.
To allow world sport the ability to benefit countries, we must create both places to practice sport and make sport a part of the community from a young age. In order for world sport to have the greatest effect on a country's development the UN needs to create an environment that will allow children to easily learn and use physical activity in their everyday lives, which includes integrating teaching sport in schools. This will allow a country to develop the most efficiently as it will start at a young age. While the UN is creating a platform for world sport, they should be aware of the country's economic stability during this time, and guide them throughout the process, as they have the possibility to be harmed. The use of global sport as an engine to develop can be useful to a country as long as it is being used in a effective and productive manner.
