Good Practice: Team­ing Up for Gender Equal­ity: Sport for De­vel­op­ment in Africa (S4DA)

The climate crisis and COVID-19 pandemic severely affect the African continent. Because of these ongoing transformations, young people need to be equipped with skills and competences. In Africa approximately 20 million youth come into the labour market every year, representing the potential for the world’s greatest workforce. Pursuing the goal of “Leaving No One Behind” and a “Just Transition”, young people, especially women and girls, need to be equipped with skills and competences such as communication, cooperation and leadership skills that empower them as agents of change. The great enthusiasm for sport across the African continent provides an opportunity to attract young people to quality educational and vocational programmes.

Sport for development (S4D) has the potential to change mindsets and behaviour patterns regarding the discrimination of women and girls and foster mutual respect and understanding. Through value-based exercises, children and youth can develop their personal and social competences and are sensitised on gender equality and inclusion. Accompanying discussion sessions enable participants to further explore the conveyed competences or topics and connect them to their daily lives.

Local, national, and regional organisations in Africa are increasingly using sport-based approaches to promote gender equality, the transformation of stereotypical gender roles, and social and job-relevant skills on the pan-African, national, and regional levels.

The Sport for Development in Africa (S4DA) Regional Project uses sport and physical activities as a tool to promote gender equality by empowering women and girls and by fostering positive masculinity in boys and men. We follow a gender-transformative and rights-based approach which promotes equal opportunities for all. Safeguarding principles ensure that sport and physical activities are conducted in an environment which is free of harm and abuse while creating safe spaces for all.

S4DA...

• works closely with the African Union Sport Council (AUSC) to strengthen its leadership role as the AU's specialised technical office responsible for the promotion of development in and through sport in Africa. The AUSC works closely with regional and national partners and provides strategic guidance and standardisation to policymakers. Guided by the priorities of AU Agenda 2063, together we aim to strengthen the recognition of S4D as a contributor to the SDGs, particularly regarding gender and youth development.
• equips partners with concepts by building the awareness and capacities of partner governments and organisations on the use of sport and physical activity as a tool for development. This is achieved by integrating S4D in national agendas, policies, and curricula. The project also provides capacity-building measures for coaches, teachers, or representatives of local administrations on the S4D methodology. These S4D multipliers then put S4D into practice on the ground by training children and youth along developed standards.
• engages with regional partners to foster regional initiatives and strengthen regional networks as well as cross-country exchange to promote S4D approaches. Together with partners like the OlympAfrica Foundation (OAF) and Special Olympics Africa, we support the sharing of best practices among the different stakeholders by “S4D Champions” e.g. educational institutions and academia, who are particularly successful in implementing S4D approaches.
• constructs or renovates gender-sensitive and inclusive sports grounds in cooperation with partner organisations and user groups ensuring the creation of safe spaces for children and youth to engage in physical activities.
• supports gender-transformative approaches by empowering national and regional networks that use sport-based approaches to empower girls and women through sport, fostering positive masculinity and raising awareness of gender-based prejudice. Through a pan-African agents of change network Equal Play Effect Africa African S4D organisations are supported in the creation and implementation of their own gender action plans.

Since 2014, together with partners, we have…

• integrated the S4D approach in national strategies, concepts or teaching curricula in Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal, and Togo.
• constructed or renovated 179 sports grounds available to over 700.000 children and youth.
• trained over 1.700 multipliers (e.g. coaches, teachers, social workers) on integrating the S4D approach into their training programs and teaching curricula.
• regularly engaged with over 33.000 children and youth (about 40% female) in S4D activities improving their access to development opportunities through sport.