Topic: Using Global Sport as an Engine for Development
Country: Palestine
Delegate Name: Olivia Engvall
School: Forest Hills Eastern High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Palestine position papers GLIMUN 2016 committees
One of the most beneficial ways to promote social development is sport. On a global scale, sport can be used for increasing public awareness and gender equality, and for promoting healthy living and peace. The United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace (UNOSDP) uses actors and actresses to spread messages regarding issues such as the environment, health, and children’s rights. The UNOSDP is also focusing on using sport as a way to tackle the Sustainable Development Goals which were adopted in 2015. Sport can help to achieve gender equality, promote economic development and employment, and make settlements more inclusive.
In August of 2016, Palestine received 2 million US dollars towards youth economic initiatives from the Islamic Development Bank. One-third of this money will be used for youth involvement in sports. Projects funded by this money hope to empower the youth of Palestine, lower the unemployment rate among Palestinian youth which is currently at 41%, and improve the lives of the younger generation of Palestinians which is approximately a third of the population. The UNDP partnered with the government of Japan earlier this year to initiate the Tokyo Football League in Gaza. The Tokyo Football League is lead by the Palestine Football Association and includes 56 different teams of children under 19 from towns and refugee camps in the Gaza Strip. The league aspires to help the people in Gaza who have been affected by the continuous conflict between Palestine and Israel. Organized sport has helped level the gap between genders in Palestine. Hanan Abu Qassem is the first EMT to attend to male football players in Gaza. There have been female medical workers in almost all medical fields except for at football games. Empowering women is one of the Sustainable Development Goals and by allowing Abu Qassem to attend to male football players in a public setting, she is setting precedent for future women in the medical profession.
Having benefited from sport, Palestine supports its use as an engine for development. It will help underprivileged countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and better their communities. Palestine encourages other countries to improve their relationships with neighboring countries, promote gender equality and create a more supportive environment for their people. With events like the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup, global sport is paving a path towards equality and peaceful relations between countries.
