Maidan Summit 2011 - Compendium of Proceedings

MAIDAN SUMMIT 2011
2nd International Sport for Development Meet
Paintal Memorial Golden Jubilee Auditorium, Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute
University of Delhi, New Delhi 110007 INDIA

December 1-3, 2011

Maidan Summit 2011, the 2nd International Sport for Development Meet was held at New Delhi, India, between December 1-3,
2011. Maidan is a dedicated platform to bring together people who strongly believe that the power of sport can change lives
and work on development goals. More than 600 participants explored various facets of this approach in seven sessions spread
over three days:

 An international conference on sport for development (S4D)
 Six dedicated workshops on education, gender, health, leadership, youth development & livelihood, social inclusion
and community empowerment.

A bimonthly magazine and a website www.maidan.in were also launched on the occasion.

Participants included experts from the Sport for Development (S4D) fraternity who shares experiences, models and best
practices from around the world, as well as veterans from other industries who shared their views on integrating sport in
mainstream development programmes. The Summit also gave people from the areas other than sports who are keen on
engaging in this high impact, cost-saving tool of development, an opportunity to listen to and discuss with practitioners and
policymakers.

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Compendium of Proceedings

International Conference on Sport for Development
Paintal Memorial Golden Jubilee Auditorium, Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute
University of Delhi, New Delhi 110007 INDIA

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Inaugural Session
Maidan Summit 2011 kick-started with a high-energy aerobics-dance mix by young Magic Bus mentors who set the stage for
active discussions on S4D. The adrenaline-packed presentation opened Maidan 2011 for the inaugural session.

Moderator: Mr Vivek Ramchandani, Coordinator, Australian Sports Outreach Programme (ASOP), Australian Sports Commission

Panel (in order of proceedings):
1. Mr Vivek Ramchandani, Australian Sports Outreach Programme (ASOP), Australian Sports Commission
2. Mr Matthew Spacie, Magic Bus India Foundation
3. Mr Charlie Walker, British Council
4. Mr Poul Hansen, United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace (UNOSDP), Geneva
5. Mr Devinder Kumar Kansal, Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences; University of Delhi

Participation: 200+

Key deliberations:
1. Mr Vivek Ramchandani
Mr Vivek Ramchandani emphasised on the use of sport as a tool to facilitate development, particularly for livelihood
generation. “There is no one who actually objects to sport, and this addresses the issue of participation in community
programmes”, he said. Mr Ramchandani mentioned three outcomes of sport: physical joy, health and fitness, and
development of qualities like clarity of mind, team spirit and leadership, eventually leading to a quick thinking
capacity that helps in decision making. He spoke about the Government of India’s Panchayat Yuva Krida aur Khel
Abhiyan (PYKKA), which plans to reach out to all 640 districts of India.

He explained the three basic initiatives of the Australian Sports
Outreach Programme:
providing an annual grant for equipment,
providing a stipend for community sport coaches –
volunteers, and
providing one time grant for infrastructural
development.

Mr Ramchandani also reflected upon the age-old adage, ‘padhoge
likhoge banoge nawaab, kheloge kudoge banoge kharaab’ (education
makes you a kind, sport spoils) describing the Indian scenario where
parents discourage their children from indulging in sports and give
more importance to academics. Scientific reports prove the
contrary, he said, adding that sport helps children to perform better academically. Mr Ramchandani encouraged the
creation of opportunities to play for everyone.

Contact Mr Vivek Ramchandani at vramchandani@gmail.com
Know more about the Australian Sports Outreach Programme at www.ausport.gov.au

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2. Mr Matthew Spacie
Mr Matthew Spacie explained the genesis of Maidan as an attempt to
create a movement that will bring everyone together in one room
with a vision of using harnessing sport for development in India.
Quoting the saying, ‘where there is opportunity, there will be
prosperity; where there is no opportunity, there will be poverty’, he
said sports can be an important approach to address larger issues
like poverty. The Magic Bus founder said that sport is a relevant
platform for young people as it allows equity in communities and
also creates opportunities for them to engage.

While referring to the fact that India still has half of the world’s
illiterate population, Mr Spacie emphasised that there is a need to
think differently, and start looking at a different dialogue. He
shared a couple of examples from the sport for development
programme Magic Bus runs to prove his point about the uses of sport for pursuing development goals.

Contact Mr Matthew Spacie at matthew@magicbusindia.org
Know more about Magic Bus at www.magicbus.org

3. Mr Charlie Walker
Mr Charlie Walker expressed his views on using sport as a medium to
communicate with the youth from grassroots level in the society to
bring about change. In his discourse, he mentioned that sport is one
of the languages of cultural relations. It provides a simple and
practical way to bring people together by bridging divides within
and between communities and nations.

He also said that sport has the power to drive greater inclusion,
deepen diversity in communities and create opportunities to harness
the power and use them to break down the social taboos.

Contact Mr Charlie Walker at charlie.walker@britishcouncil.org
Know more about the British Council at www.britishcouncil.org

4. Mr Poul Hansen
Mr Poul Hansen shared his views on volunteerism in sports, with a
special mention to the values coming from sport to promote human
development. Briefly taking the audience through how the United
Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace came up, he
spoke about the use of sports as described in the Human Rights
Declaration to further education and gender equity goals.

He further talked about the establishment of the office on sport for
development and peace by the UN, and how it created partnerships
not only in the UN but also with the outside world on the use of
sport for bringing about social change and development.

Contact Mr Poul Hansen at phansen@unog.ch
Know more about the United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace at
www.un.org/wcm/content/site/sport/home/unplayers/unoffice

5. Mr Devinder Kumar Kansal
Mr Devinder Kumar Kansal strongly advocated using sport for
development in India’s education system, recommending education
on sport and physical education as one of the qualifiers to entitle a
person to be called educated. He referred to the Denzel
Commission’s report which recommends four pillars upon which a
complete physical education programme stands – to know, to be, to
do and to live together. He also emphasised that the sport should
come to children at an early age, and last long. He suggested
collaborations at all levels from schools to colleges and universities.

Mr Kansal expressed a strong will to see sport as a part of the
formal school and university curriculum, and not just stay confined
to the realms of a co-curricular activity or an optional subject.

Contact Mr Devinder Kumar Kansal at devinderkansal@gmail.com
Know more about University of Delhi at www.du.ac.in

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Session 1: What is S4D? Leveraging sport to support human development
This session discussed in detail how sport can be a powerful tool to support human development. Case studies of change through
sport illustrated how the medium has been used to influence areas of community development and empowerment.

Moderator: Vivek Ramchandani, Australian Sports Outreach Programme (ASOP), Australian Sports Commission

1. Mr Franz Gastler, Yuwa India
2. Ms Marie Rischmann, Isha Foundation
3. Mr Pratik Kumar, Magic Bus India Foundation
4. Mr Fred Coalter, ex-University of Sterling, UK

Key deliberations:
1. Mr Franz Gastler
Mr Franz Gastler shared his experience of working in Jharkhand,
where he uses football for girls in an effective way at the grassroots
level. He shared his idea of developing an atmosphere which creates
a sense of belonging, and makes the girl’s parents aware of her
rights and value in villages. “There are no lines, laps or lectures in
this process,” he said. He further shared his three rules of the
thumb for coaches: talk less, show, don’t tell and always reinforce,
positively.

He began his presentation with a small activity which required the
audience to connect to a sport of their choice when an alphabet was
uttered. The results were an interesting to show how most people
think about a common sport, and how many potent options often get
left out. After showing a brief video of how Yuwa programme works with girls in the villages of Jharkhand, Mr Gastler
concluded saying, “For millions of girls, playing football gives them personal confidence and skills, health, a safe
social environment and freedom from the confines of social norms. The future of football is feminine”.

Mr Franz Gastler’s video is available at Maidan.in.

Contact Mr Franz Gastler at franz_gastler@yuwa-india.org
Know more about Yuwa India at www.yuwa-india.org

2. Ms Marie Rischmann
Ms Marie Rischmann talked about the importance of yoga and
meditation in sports, with a reference to what the Isha Foundation
believes in. She spoke about how with powerful yoga and physical
activity programmes, the foundation attempts to create an inclusive
culture that is the basis for global harmony and progress. Ms
Rischmann put forward three things that sport brings to life: full
involvement, control of mind and inclusiveness.

“Sport is not just a strategy by itself, but a tool to unite
communities and bring people together,” she said. Ms Rischman also
spoke about the use of sport in community development by
introducing it in steps in different community projects and
interventions.

Contact Ms Marie Rischmann at marie.rischmann@ishaoutreach.org
Know more about Isha Foundation at www.ishafoundation.org

3. Mr Pratik Kumar
Mr Pratik Kumar elaborated on the use of sport for development
work. He stressed upon sports’ potential to engage as one of the
strongest advantages in using a sport-based programme, as he
mentioned how organisations struggle to capture and keep captured
the target audience in community programmes, especially the ones
involving children and young adults. He also recommended
everybody’s engagement in sports.

He also shared his experience from the national programme of Magic
Bus, and further added how sport can cover a variety of dimensions
in the context of development not just on the sports field but also
off it, when you have the audience captured, ready to listen, and
likely to reflect.

Contact Mr Pratik Kumar at pratik@magicbusindia.org
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4. Mr Fred Coalter
Mr Fred Coalter made a presentation around the monitoring and
evaluation of sport for development programmes, in reference to
the mechanisms and processes of their development. He showed how
the experience of sport (and not always, sport itself) may facilitate
results, and how community empowerment can happen through this
experience.

Mr Coalter also emphasised on crafting specific programmes based
on different social relationships and environments, and delivered to
specific target people.

Mr Fred Coalter’s presentation is available at Maidan.in.

Contact Mr Fred Coalter at j.a.coalter@stir.ac.uk

Session 2: Policies on Sport for Development
The panel in this session discussed some important features for the development of sport. It suggested that regular participation
in appropriate physical activity and sport helps in improving a child’s ability to learn. It also discussed the need of linking sport,
health and education, especially in light of the innovative schemes like the Panchayat Yuva Krida aur Khel Abhiyan (PYKKA).

Moderator: Ms Sonali Chander, Sports Editor, NDTV

1. Ms Sonali Chander, NDTV
2. Mr C Chandramohan, Planning Commission, Government of India
3. Mr Vineet Joshi, Central Board of Secondary Education
4. Mr Bobby John, Public Health Advocate

Key deliberations:
1. Ms Sonali Chander
Ms Sonali Chander gave a good start to the panel by inviting a few
quick insights from the audience, which created a good environment
for the next round of discussions. While some of these were
questions directly made to the panel, while others mentioned
examples and suggestions of good practices on using sport for
development.

Together, the interactions warmed up the session for participative
deliberations, with a host of ideas and experiences from different
backgrounds and approaches from India and around the world.

Contact Ms Sonali Chander at sonalic@ndtv.com
Know more about NDTV at www.ndtv.com

2. Mr C Chandramohan
Mr Chandramohan expressed his concern over the lack of a sport
culture in India, which is the most youthful nation in the world. He
attributed this to reasons like lack of adequate investment in
sports, a lack of interest from the states, inadequate infrastructure
and training facilities, a weak federal structure of sports bodies, a
lack of transparency and accountability in their functioning, an
absence of a maintenance plan for existing infrastructure, the
erosion of playfields in villages and a degradation of open playfields
in urban areas. All this is compounded by an improper or no
evaluation of schemes.

Taking the audience through a presentation on the state of affairs
of sport in the entire country, Mr Chandramohan linked sport to the
personality development of India’s youth. He recommended a
dedicated investment in physical education, advocating fitness to be a part of human resource development, and an
immediate need for a young country like India.

Mr C Chandramohan’s presentation is available at Maidan.in.

Contact Mr C Chandramohan at cchandra@nic.in
Know more about the Planning Commission at www.planningcommission.nic.in

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3. Mr Vineet Joshi
Mr Vineet Joshi said that sport is a great social equalizer for the
youth, referring to the programmes that CBSE has started in schools
to address the various aspects of physical, mental, emotional and
psychological health. He emphasised on making sport, health and
physical education compulsory up to grade ten. He also
recommended an emphasis on the concept of health and wellness
where the focus is on child’s health as a human being and not only
as a sportsperson.

He also gave a brief insight into the Physical Education Cards (PECs)
that have been introduced in consultation with the British Council to
address a common concern of parents: ‘physical education is a waste
of time’. Mr Joshi detailed out the PECs map which includes an
entire curriculum from grade one to five. He spoke about how
upgrading the grades in scholastic areas by using the grades in non-cognitive areas (especially in sports) would help
create a better understanding and acceptance of the importance of sport and physical education.

Contact Mr Vineet Joshi at secy-cbse@nic.in
Know more about the Central Board of Secondary Education at www.cbse.nic.in

4. Mr Bobby John
Mr Bobby John put forward his view that that sport is a medium
through which people can come together. With a judicious use of
resources, it is a process from where productive outcomes can be
derived. Drawing a close, quick analogy with the structure and state
of ministries of food and labour in India, he emphasised how outputs
need to be relooked at in terms of deliverables.

He emphasised on the necessary outcomes, instead of numbers and
budgets, as the driving force for large-scale programmes and
government schemes.

Contact Mr Bobby John at bj@bjohn.org

From the audience:
The session was a highly interactive one with interesting questions from the audience. Some of these were:

Ms Josephine from Samarthanam Trust put forward a question on the sport policies for the disabled.
Mr Chandramohan responded to this question by saying that the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan covers all children under
it. He also mentioned that many policies are being reformulated and steps are being taken towards it.

Mr Amir Abidi from Education Development Centre shot a direct question to the panel saying, ‘Where are the
maidans? Most spaces available in urban India require you to pay to play’.
This question was taken up by Mr Bobby John. He said, “The need has to come from the people, especially those
at the grassroots. It’s only when people ask for something in a democratic setup, that the government does
something about it.”

Session 3: Sport – An effective tool for social inclusion and empowering women and children
This session emphasised on the role of sport in promoting social inclusion and gender equality. It discussed the various ways in
which a woman acquires a green chit to encourage freedom of expression, develop a sense of identity, and become empowered
through sport. The session also deliberated on the potential of sport as a medium for reaching out to the yet-to-be-included
people from underprivileged sections and those with special abilities. It has the power to break down the social barriers and
create a healthy civil society.

Moderator: Mr Vivek Ramchandani, Coordinator, Australian Sports Outreach Programme (ASOP), Australian Sports Commission

1. Mr Ravi Verma, International Center for Research on Women (ICRW)
2. Ms Maria Bobenrieth, Women Win
3. Mr Denzil Keelor, Special Olympics Bharat
4. Ms Mukta Narain Thind (Co-presenter), Special Olympics Bharat

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Key deliberations:
1. Mr Ravi Verma
Mr Ravi Verma presented on how the ICRW is working on propagating
a different concept of masculinity, with a brief video clip from the
Parivartan programme. He talked about promoting gender equality
and acceptance of gender equality using the medium of sport,
highlighting the importance of bringing an understanding of other
perspectives in development. He said that mainstream sport often
socializes boys and girls into becoming gender constructs of men and
boys, and emphasised the need of a gender-transformative approach
which will help boys relook at their own masculinity.

He talked about the three conceptual principals of the approach: (a)
using cricket (as a means) to challenge masculinity knots, winning
young boys in a manner where they would form a space to critically
challenge some of their wrongdoings, done mostly when they are growing up, (b) understanding the role of human
body in relation to competition, since most sports and physical programmes lay no emphasis on the body or its
representation which marginalises women and many boys, and (c) a positive deviant approach as a way of sustaining
the programme.

Mr Ravi Verma’s video is available at Maidan.in.

Contact Mr Ravi Verma at rverma@icrw.org
Know more about the International Center for Research on Women at www.icrw.org

2. Ms Maria Bobenrieth
Ms Maria Bobenrieth took the audience through a journey of Women
Win with a video presentation. Sport can play a unique role by
empowering girls and women with a range of social assets, new skills
and access to resources and opportunities, she said. Through sport,
girls can benefit economically, emotionally and achieve self-
determination. They can challenge and expand norms pertaining to
what is acceptable for girls and women. Sport consortiums like
federations, different communities and development sector
organisations should come together, supporting the fact that sport
gives the girls an ability to practice leadership, and transforms the
way they think about themselves and the way communities see
them. Most importantly, it builds social networks.

“You have to design for what you want to be the outcome,” she said, further explaining that adding girls in boys’
sport programmes will not work, and hence there is a need of programmes which are specifically designed for and by
girls. Ms Bobenrieth concluded on a beautiful note. “At the end of the day, girls are not a problem; they are actually
the answer or solution to it,” she said.

Ms Maria Bobenrieth’s video and presentation are available at Maidan.in.

Contact Ms Maria Bobenrieth at m.bobenrieth@womenwin.org
Know more about Women Win at www.womenwin.org

3. Mr Denzil Keelor
Mr Denzil Keelor co-presented the Special Olympics experience with
Ms Mukta Narain Thind. They shared how Special Olympics use sport
as a stage to demonstrate capabilities to build an inclusive and
cohesive community. They do this by changing the attitudes of
communities towards persons with disabilities by promoting
acceptance, respect, recognition and eventually leading into a
natural and receptive human behavior.

The presenters supported the view that sport provides the most
enjoyable, beneficial and challenging activities for athletes with
intellectual disabilities, and helps in their social mainstreaming.
Briefing the audience on the accomplishments of special athletes,
they said that given a chance, they could become more productive
citizens. Mr Keelor elaborated on how Special Olympics activities strengthen people with intellectual disabilities
physically, mentally, socially and spiritually, with a special mention to how the athletes move from Special Olympics
training into schools and community programmes where they further compete in regular sporting activities.

Mr Denzil Keelor’s presentation is available at Maidan.in.

Contact Mr Denzil Keelor at dkeelor@airtelmail.in
Know more about Special Olympics Bharat at www.specialolympicsbharat.org

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Session 4: Taking the S4D platform forward in India – Where do we go from here?
The last session summarized the deliberations and learnings from the earlier sessions, and suggested a way forward for
harnessing sport for development. Many new perspectives came to the fore. The discussions reached a general consensus on
sport as a way of directly impacting and influencing multiple areas of development. This session thus elaborated on the vital
role sport plays in building capacities of young people, and how it can create opportunities for them.

Moderator: Mr Pratik Kumar, Magic Bus India Foundation

1. Mr Poul Hansen, United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace (UNOSDP)
2. Mr Raj Kishore Mishra, Commonwealth Youth Programme, Asia Region
3. Mr P Michael Vetha Siromony, Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development
4. Mr OP Singh, Department of Sports, Government of India

Key deliberations:
1. Mr Poul Hansen
Mr Poul Hansen said that sport and physical education can be an
extremely productive opportunity to support new talent. He also
said that partnership in all areas is extremely important, affirming
that the governments have a vital role in coordinating with
organisations for development of and through sports.

He suggested that by bringing sport clubs, federations and NGOs to
work with schools, one can provide skills that schools teachers may
not have, and thus, bring physical education back in schools.
Impressed by the role Community Sport Coaches play in connecting
development to sport, he encouraged bringing up of role models like
them, who would work on a day-to-day basis in local communities as
community leaders as volunteers in sport programmes. He also
called upon support from the corporate, government and non-government organisations.

Contact Mr Poul Hansen at phansen@unog.ch
Know more about the United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace at
www.un.org/wcm/content/site/sport/home/unplayers/unoffice

2. Mr Raj Kishore Mishra
Mr Raj Kishore Mishra shared his views on the development of
sports, suggesting that the foremost step is a compulsory
introduction of physical education as a part of the education
curriculum in schools. He said that the direct consequences of this
would be a reduction in school drop-out rate, increase in life
expectancy, improvement in various social development indicators,
enhanced gender equity, and greater social inclusion and harmony.

He elaborated on how schemes like PYKKA provide universal access
to sports in rural areas and harness potential sporting talent among
rural youth. Mr Mishra felt a need for introducing specific
development and peace messages in all sport programmes like those
on environmental protection, gender equity, HIV protection, peace
and development. He added that introduction of these messages would help attain the development goals. Further, he
added that the role of media and corporate houses is important for development of the concept of sport for all. He
called upon them to let go of their obsession with glamorous, elite sports, and relook at strategies promotion and
development of sport.

Contact Mr Raj Kishore Mishra at rajmishra@cypasia.net
Know more about the Commonwealth Youth Programme, Asia Region at www.cypasia.net

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3. Mr P Michael Vetha Siromony
Mr P Michael Vetha Siromony emphasised upon the connection that
youth and sport share with each other. He said, ‘a sport is a
powerful medium to engage with youth in bringing about positive
changes in their lives’. He said that sport and youth cannot be
separated and shared examples of how (ironically) sport is visible in
the country, but youth is not.

He said that the general lack of interest, guidance and opportunities
is a problem that the country is facing, and that it needs to be
addressed immediately. Mr Siromony suggested that right education
to every child from right source is important. He added that youth
should be encouraged to play as much as possible today, in light of
the fact that they engage themselves for a considerable time in non-
physical activities.

Contact Mr P Michael Vetha Siromony at vethasiromony@gmail.com
Know more about Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development at www.rgniyd.gov.in

4. Mr OP Singh
Mr OP Singh emphasised on the need for a proactive and inclusion
intervention for sport programmes. He took the audience through an
elaborate presentation as he detailed Haryana’s Sports and Physical
Aptitude Test (SPAT) through a video from Play 4 India. He talked
about the test, emphasizing how sport comes with an incentive.

He also put forward his views on how sport help governments in
delivering programmes on preventive health care, social cohesion,
youth development and gender justice. Mr Singh added that
programmes based on sport should be low-cost and effective,
augment playing population and feature an effective legacy
management.

Mr OP Singh’s video and presentation are available at Maidan.in.

Contact Mr OP Singh at opsinghips@gmail.com
Know more about the Haryana’s SPAT at www.play4india.com

Vote of thanks
The day ended with a heartfelt vote of thanks by Mr Matthew Spacie. He
shared how the whole idea of getting S4D practitioners in India together
under one roof was worked upon.

He concluded on the note that the journey of Sport for Development is on
with more people coming on board realizing what this development tool can
do to the society, and how Maidan can be used effectively to deliver its
power.

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Workshop on Sport and Gender
Friday, December 2, 2011
New Delhi, India

Moderator: Ms Maria Bobenrieth, Women Win

1. Ms Maria Bobenrieth, Women Win
2. Ms Madhumita Das, International Center for Research on Women
3. Ms Suvekchya Rana, Saathi
4. Ms Mona Shipley, British Council

Participation: 75+

Key deliberations:
1. Ms Maria Bobenrieth
The first workshop of Maidan Summit 2011 started with a round of
introductions facilitated by Ms Maria Bobenrieth. Having done that,
and after presenting briefly on Women Win and their work, she
remarked that how a small activity of just getting to know each
other could create an incredible marketplace of exchanging
knowledge.

Ms Bobenrieth presented the panel to the workshop participants,
highlighting how different organisations work with different
approaches, and why is it important to understand and utilize the
experience of each other.

Contact Ms Maria Bobenrieth at m.bobenrieth@womenwin.org
Know more about Women Win at www.womenwin.org

2. Ms Madhumita Das
Ms Madhumita Das started with the observation that women of this
generation realize that sport can help change things for them. She
emphasised on the need to have qualified, trained and experienced
coaches who would eventually mentor young girls and women in
overcoming social taboos and propel a sense of dignity within them.

Through a video-presentation called Parivartan (Hindi: change), she
upheld the view that sport is a platform where a lot of exchange
takes place, and this exchange could be tapped to drive change.
Elaborating on examples from ICRW’s programme, she explained
how with proper mentoring, boys and young men, when brought
together with girls and young women, agree that the latter should
be given equal opportunity in sport. She added that it could change
the way they look at masculinity and respect differences.

Ms Madhumita Das’s presentation is available at Maidan.in.

Contact Ms Madhumita Das at mdas@icrw.org
Know more about International Center for Research on Women at www.icrw.org

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3. Ms Suvekchya Rana
Ms Suvekchya Rana presented a different perspective of using sport
to address gender issues through her presentation on a football
programme run in Nepal, talking about how a sport, which usually
males play, can aid uplift their counterparts. She also mentioned
how it works to address violence against women.

She also took the audience through the journey of Saathi, explaining
how its programmes help in building competency, raising awareness
and providing support services in Nepal, where football is extremely
popular. She advocated the engagement of men as partners in
running these programmes. She also spoke about using the influence
of popular footballers to reach out to more people, especially
women, and deliver development programmes to them. Ms Rana proposed partnerships with the government, NGOs
and the corporate sector in making such programmes more effective.

Ms Suvekchya Rana’s video and presentation are available at Maidan.in.

Contact Ms Suvekchya Rana at rana_suvekchya@yahoo.com
Know more about Saathi at www.saathi.org.np

4. Ms Mona Shipley
Ms Mona Shipley said that sport is an integral part of culture in
almost every country, and pointed at how women get segregated
because it is traditionally associated with masculinity. Ms Shipley
felt the need to challenge the discrimination based on gender in
sports.

She highlighted the need to have an advocacy platform, where
people come to become aware of their rights and eventually drive
change from within.

Ms Mona Shipley’s presentation is available at Maidan.in.

Contact Ms Mona Shipley at mona.shipley@in.britishcouncil.org
Know more about British Council at www.britishcouncil.org

From the audience:
The workshop drew some interesting insights from the participants:

1. Mr SK Sagar from PYKKA remarked that sport is one element which doesn’t differentiate in terms of masculinity or
feminity if developed properly.
2. Ms Kusum Mohapatra from Magic Bus shared how policies on child protection and sexual harassment should always be
there in place, when it comes to designing programmes around gender.
3. Ms Sanjana from Crea also shared their experience of seeing increased levels of self-confidence in women under their
programmes.

Concluding Remarks:
Ms Maria Bobenrieth concluded the workshop by sharing that Women Win was celebrating sixteen days of violence against
women. The session came to an end with a short video on how sport could be used to establish peace in areas of conflict and
war. A part of the video also showed the power of sport in addressing gender-based violence.

The workshop sent out powerful messages on the potential of sport to help recover, connect, process and heal. It also made the
participants better equipped of the fact that sport encourages resilience, rebuilds trust, restores human dignity, provides social
support and facilitates reconciliation.

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Workshop on Sport, Youth Development and Livelihoods
New Delhi, India

Moderator: Ms Babli Moitra Saraf, Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi

1. Ms Babli Moitra Saraf
2. Ms Betty Augustine, Dream a Dream Foundation
3. Mr Eddie Rock, Libero Sports
4. Mr Sandeep Dutt, The International Award for Young People
5. Mr Sushil Ramola, Basic Academy for Building Lifelong Employability

Participation: 60+

Key deliberations:
1. Ms Babli Moitra Saraf
The workshop, which was being conducted simultaneously with the
one on Sport and Gender, began with welcome remarks by Ms Babli
Moitra Saraf. She introduced the panel to the participants, and gave
a brief outline on the structure of the workshop.

Contact Ms Babli Moitra Saraf at bmsaraf@gmail.com
Know more about Indraprastha College for Women at www.ipcollege.du.ac.in

2. Ms Betty Augustine
Ms Betty Augustine introduced her organisation, Dream a Dream,
and shared the model on which it works with vulnerable children on
developing their life skills through sport. She shared how
communities could be sensitized through simple activities like active
volunteering and a football.

She presented a case study of a participant, and explained how
through sport develops the ability to take initiatives, overcome
difficulties, interact with one another and follow instructions. The
story of 17-year-old Girish on the programme, who started playing
football at the age of 14 and eventually became a national level
player for homeless people, was shared as a case in point.

Ms Betty Augustine’s presentation is available at Maidan.in.

Contact Ms Betty Augustine at betty.augustine@dreamadream.org
Know more about Dream a Dream Foundation at www.dreamadream.org

12 | P a g e

3. Mr Eddie Rock
Mr Eddie Rock focused his presentation around development of
youth through sport, with a special emphasis on co-existence skills
that help young boys and girls to survive and work with each other.
He referred to the Commonwealth Games as he mentioned that
sport is a huge global fraternity today. “It gives people skills for a
lifetime, that could be helpful in creating opportunities for
livelihood later,” he said.

He also advocated that girls should be given an equal place when it
comes to sporting opportunities, as he cited the US Government’s
instruction of making sport available to all girls in schools and
colleges in 1970. The young sport enthusiast also said that sport
enables people to handle failure with more grace, and inculcates a
culture of giving.

Contact Mr Eddie Rock at eddie.rock@liberosports.com
Know more about Libero Sports at www.liberosports.com

4. Mr Sandeep Dutt
Mr Sandeep Dutt began with saying that there is development when
there is sport. He held sport to be the most adaptable and
successful youth empowerment tools. Talking about the education
system, he said that education gives 25% of what one is and the
remaining comes from practice. He highlighted the need for taking
up the responsibility of the under-25 youth in the country, which
forms a major part of the population for India.

He said that the fundamental nature of sport used for development
should focus on improvement of individual ability, be secular and
non-competitive, and involve voluntary, willful participation. He
further added that sport equips one for life through adventure,
service and skills.

Mr Sandeep Dutt’s presentation is available at Maidan.in.

Contact Mr Sandeep Dutt at sandeep@dofe.in
Know more about the International Award for Young People at www.iayp.in

5. Mr Sushil Ramola
Mr Sushil Ramola in his presentation highlighted the fact that India
has 25% of the world’s young population, and there are many
challenges that need to be taken care of. He listed employability,
awareness and quality as the main focus points in sport-based
programmes. “Five hundred million young people need these skills
in the country,” he said.

He supported that sport has a learning angle to it, and when one
plays, a lot of traits like confidence, self-belief, leadership,
conflict-resolution, communication, and problem-solving naturally
come to the fore and get developed. He advocated playing for fun,
playing to get a voice, playing to get a resolution to a conflict situation, and playing to learn as essential elements of
sport programmes.

Contact Mr Sushil Ramola at s.ramola@basixindia.com
Know more about Basix Academy for Building Lifelong Employability at www.b-able.in

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Workshop on Sport and Physical Education in Schools
New Delhi, India

Introduction
This workshop deliberated on the importance of physical education in a student’s comprehensive, well-rounded education. It
discussed how physical education improves self-confidence, develops social skills and makes healthy and strong individuals, and
further elaborated on the importance of being fit and leading a healthy life.

Moderator: Mona Shipley, British Council

1. Ms Mona Shipley, British Council
2. Mr Prashant Kakkar, EduSports
3. Ms Carol Lukins, Youth Sport Trust, UK
4. Mr DK Bedi, Apeejay School, New Delhi
5. Ms Saroj Yadav, National Council of Educational Research and Training
6. Mr JL Pandey, ex-National Council of Educational Research and Training

Participation: 90+

Key deliberations:
1. Ms Mona Shipley
Moderating the session, Ms Mona Shipley presented her experience with
developing Physical Education Cards (PEC) at British Council. She held
that one should harness engagement, effectiveness and simplicity of
sport-based programmes and use them at the grassroots level to begin
transformation.

She explained that PECs are a set of colourful cards with some tips and
hints for delivering fun, safe and inclusive Physical Education sessions.
The cards have a student centered approach and are seen as teaching
aids to support the delivery of Physical Education curriculum at the
primary stage. Apart from physical education, the cards are also linked
to subjects like English, Mathematics and Environmental Sciences.

PEC Cards are being viewed as a competent tool for providing an inclusive and interesting experience to the children
at primary school stage and facilitating the process of engaging them intensively in games and activities focused
particularly on agility, balance, coordination, speed and strength.

Contact Ms Mona Shipley at mona.shipley@in.britishcouncil.org
Know more about British Council at www.britishcouncil.org

2. Mr Prashant Kakkar
Mr Prashant Kakkar talked about sport and physical education in
schools through holistic approach. He suggested comprehensive
physical programmes for schools, which attract students’ interest
and highlight child development to the academic fraternity. He
advocated the need for creating champions on the field by focusing
only outside the curriculum and giving one to one coaching to some
children and free play for others.

He called upon development of specialized infrastructure with
support from the corporate sector for children who are already
achievers. Mr Kakkar also talked about engaging all children with
the structural curriculum and providing opportunities for children to
give their best.

Mr Prashant Kakkar’s presentation is available at Maidan.in.

Contact Mr Prashant Kakkar at prashant.kakkar@edusports.in
Know more about EduSports at www.edusports.in

14 | P a g e

3. Ms Carol Lukins
Ms Carol Lukins focused on inspiring and engaging all young people
to take part in sport and physical education. She said that access to
regular and appropriate competitive sport is crucial to the
development of every young person and determined to extend the
breadth and depth of competition in every school.

She also talked about setting up a programme (TOPS) to provide
equipment to schools and resources for teachers to use with the
children, and also generic and sport specific training for teachers.

Ms Carol Lukins’ presentation is available at Maidan.in.

Contact Ms Carol Lukins at carolls2009@hotmail.com
Know more about Youth Sport Trust, UK at www.youthsporttrust.org

4. Mr DK Bedi
Mr DK Bedi shared his views on the delivery of sport and physical
education in schools. From a school administrator’s perspective, he
put forward his view that the Indian education system aims for an
all-round personality development and child-centered education,
but in reality there is more emphasis on academics, on exam results,
which translates into a lack of participation in sports.

He said that sport makes a person physically, emotionally and
mentally strong, adding that a sportsperson learns to accept failures
and doesn’t give up. He also said that sport helps develop thinking
skills, social skills and makes a balanced and strong person.

Mr DK Bedi’s presentation is available at Maidan.in.

Contact Mr DK Bedi at principalbedi@gmail.com
Know more about the Apeejay School at www.apeejay.edu/pitampura

5. Ms Saroj Yadav
Ms Saroj Yadav said that health is the most important for a child.
Highlighting that health education covers everything like physical,
emotional and mental education, she said that it is about changing
the mindset. She said that the schools must realize the importance
of physical education in the form of games, activities and sport.

She also added that the health concerns include not only physical
activities but also social issues like drug abuse, HIV protection and
food and inflation. She concluded by saying that the development of
physical education has to work in synergy with food and nutrition,
social health, safety and security.

Ms Saroj Yadav’s presentation is available at Maidan.in.

Contact Ms Saroj Yadav at saroj.npep@gmail.com
Know more about the National Council for Educational Research and Training at www.ncert.nic.in

6. Mr JL Pandey
Mr JL Pandey talked about the development of sports as it
completes the process of developing human beings, starting with the
process of socializing, and running parallel to formal and informal
education, eventually enriching people. He said that to get
outcomes from sports, it has to be made accessible to all children
regardless of their physical ability and gender.

He also highlighted that health and physical education do not enjoy
the status that is enjoyed by other subjects, and that they should be
brought to the same level of a structured, important and formal
curricular activity.

Contact Mr JL Pandey at jpande2001@gmail.com
Know more about the National Council for Educational Research and Training at www.ncert.nic.in

15 | P a g e

Ms Mona Shipley and Mr DK Bedi were also accompanied by some students from Apeejay
School, Pitampura, New Delhi who participated in the Summit and shared the importance
and benefits of PEC from their point of view.

Their clarity of thoughts on what is being taught to them through PEC impressed the
panelists and the audience.

Concluding remarks:
The workshop was a healthy discussion around adding sport and physical education to the formal school curriculum by taking
time from other subjects without risk of hindering student academic achievement. The panel and participants felt that sport
helps in improving student health, and that through team sport games, students learn necessary life skills such as problem
solving, strategy and working together as a team. To conclude, sport teaches students the basics of sportsmanship, and that
there is much more to sport games and activities than just winning and losing.

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Workshop on Sport and Social Inclusion
New Delhi, India

Introduction
This workshop revolved around the role of sport in promoting social inclusion and cohesion. It discussed how participation in
sport imparts life skills, builds self-esteem, increases motivation levels and promotes social inclusion of disadvantaged groups
like migrants, persons with physical and intellectual disabilities or young people involved in or at risk-deviant social behavior. It
also elaborated on how sport can bridge divides that exist in societies like India where complex systems segment population into
various categories.

Moderator: Mr Pratik Kumar, Magic Bus India Foundation

1. Mr Harpreet Singh, Special Olympics Bharat
2. Ms Mandira Srivastava, Isha Foundation
3. Mr Dinesh Baliga, Skillshare International
4. Mr Ugrasen, Magic Bus India Foundation

Participation: 60+

Key deliberations:
1. Mr Harpreet Singh
Mr Harpreet Singh emphasised on the issue of intellectual disability.
Highlighting the scale of Special Olympics Bharat, the second largest
Special Olympics programme in the world which reaches out to all
600 districts in India, he shared that Special Olympics is perhaps the
biggest movement that inclusively engages men and women through
sport. He further added that these sport activities do not encourage
physical contact and rely on equal opportunities.

He supported the view that sport programmes are a great adhesive,
and help connect people. Sharing his experience with sport at the
Special Olympics, he detailed out the power of sports as a tool to
build up greater respect, acceptance, inclusion and human dignity.

Mr Harpreet Singh’s presentation is available at Maidan.in.

Contact Mr Harpreet Singh at hsinghsob@gmail.com
Know more about Special Olympics Bharat at www.specialolympicsbharat.org

2. Ms Mandira Srivastava
Ms Mandira Srivastava introduced the Isha Foundation and talked
about its impact through sport-based programmes. In her
presentation, she took the audience through Isha’s activities, and
explained how sport can be harnessed to create an inclusive culture
that forms the basis for urban peace and global development.

Using case studies and dedicated presentations, she spoke about
how sport has been enjoyed with full enthusiasm in the communities
that the Isha Foundation works in, and how eventually
transformation happened. She made a special mention to Isha’s
sport-based work during crisis situations in South India.

Ms Mandira Srivastava’s videos and presentation are available at Maidan.in.

Contact Ms Mandira Srivastava at mandirasrivastava@gmail.com
Know more about Isha Foundation at www.ishafoundation.org

17 | P a g e

3. Mr Dinesh Baliga
Mr Dinesh Baliga voiced his views and work on the inclusion of
Adivasis who are often discriminated socially. He spoke about
Skillshare’s work in the area of sustainable development in
partnership with communities in Africa and Asia by sharing and
building skills, and facilitating organisational effectiveness and
growth.

He made a special mention to the ‘Hope’ programme, which uses
football as a medium to bring awareness on HIV and AIDS and build
bridges between people with HIV and those without. He also talked
about increasing participation of girls in the programme by using
sport-based activities in the community.

Mr Dinesh Baliga’s presentation is available at Maidan.in.

Contact Mr Dinesh Baliga at dinesh.baliga@skillshare.org
Know more about Skillshare International at www.skillshare.org

4. Mr Ugrasen
Mr Ugrasen, a young leader from Magic Bus shared his experience of
working in Gadchiroli, a Maoist affected area in Maharashtra. He
took the participants through a captivating journey of how he
convinced parents to send their children, particularly girls, to
boarding school.


Group activity:
The second part of this workshop involved a small activity. Participants were divided into three groups and given topics to think
upon. These topics were Sport as a medium for conflict management and resolution (group 1), Social and gender issues in sport
(group 2) and Sport as a medium to include differently-abled into the mainstream.

At the end of it, the groups made presentations and discussed their points with the rest of the participants.

Concluding remarks:
Mr Pratik Kumar summed up the workshop by saying that sport is a universal language
that moves and inspires people all around the world and brings them together. He
added that it is a positive propagator of a message and should be taken into account
across the board in employment, integration, culture and education.

He said that tackling social inclusion through sports can be a win-win situation. He
also mentioned that investing in community sports is a key tool in breaking down
social barriers and creating a healthy civil society. The workshop concluded on a note
that sporting and cultural opportunities can play an important part in reengaging
disaffected sections of the community, building shared social capital and grassroots
leadership through cross-cultural interaction.

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Workshop on Sport and Health
Saturday, December 3, 2011
New Delhi, India

Introduction
The workshop on sport and health had two basic objectives: to fathom health-related issues, and to explore the ways in which
sport as a developmental tool can contribute to the sector. The workshop began with a welcome address by the moderator.

Moderator: Ms Kalyani Subramanyam, Naz Foundation

1. Ms Sunita Godara, Health Fitness Trust
2. Ms Kalyani Subramanyam, Naz Foundation
3. Mr Bobby John, Public Health Advocate

Participation: 75+

Key deliberations:
1. Ms Sunita Godara
Ms Sunita Godara said that sport has shifted gears by taking on the
job of a tool that not only promotes physical activities but also
contributes in the health sector by promoting health-related
products and services. She said that sporting activities not only help
a person stay physically fit, but also improve the overall quality of
life.

She made a presentation and shared how the Health Fitness Trust
attempts to address the cause of health through sport and physical
activities. She created an elaborate picture of how sport, yoga,
rallies, and other physical activities have been proven to contribute
to a healthier society adding that more number of schools, NGOs
and Corporates should come forward to support such endeavors.

Ms Sunita Godara’s video and presentations are available at Maidan.in.

Contact Ms Sunita Godara at sunitagodara@gmail.com
Know more about the Health Fitness Trust at www.healthfitnesssociety.org

2. Ms Kalyani Subramanyam
Ms Kalyani Subramanyam advocated the use of sport in breaking
barriers when it comes to community health. Giving examples from
the Naz Foundation, she explained how sport makes it easy to
deliver programmes and messages around HIV-AIDS, sexual health
and well-being. Through her presentation, she briefly explained the
four pillars on which the Goal curriculum is based – be yourself, be
healthy, be empowered and be money-savvy – and emphasised that
health is among the most important of these.

She highlighted engagement through sport leading to creation of a
confident comfort-zone for girls and women to come out and talk
about their problems, as one of the major advantages sport offers.

Ms Kalyani Subramanyam’s presentation is available at Maidan.in.

Contact Ms Kalyani Subramanyam at naz.goal@gmail.com
Know more about the Naz Foundation at www.nazindia.org

19 | P a g e

3. Mr Bobby John
Mr Bobby John shared how millions of people are migrating from
rural areas to urban cities, that is, from open areas to limited
areas. He mentioned how children do not get spaces to play, which
in turn affects their health. He added that sport is such a tool that
it can bring communities together by giving them self-reliability and
belief that they can participate without any kind of discrimination.

He also said listed a few key figures on health, and spoke about the
impossibility of attaining economic growth at the cost of unhealthy,
unfit children. Mr John concluded saying that sports may not be the
ability of every kid, but, play is the birth right of every child.

Contact Mr Bobby John at bj@bjohn.org

Group activity:
The presentations were followed by a small group activity on knowing one’s body image.
Ms Kalyani Subramanyam and the team from Naz Foundation conducted this activity to
make participants realize, feel and be comfortable about their bodies.

The underlying message was to be aware and confident of self, since sporting activities
often involve physical contact.

Concluding remarks:
Mr Vivek Ramchandani remarked that if one invests in sport towards addressing health-based issues, it is like saving on health-
care costs. Mr Pratik Kumar summed up the session by reassuring that sport has the power to engage, which comes at a low-
cost, and lasts longer. Thus, he said, it is very easy to design and deliver messages on topics as simple as general hygiene to the
participants. He said that it is therefore a fantastic, tangible tool for development in the area of community health.

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Workshop on Sport and Physical Education in Colleges and Universities
Saturday, December 3, 2011
New Delhi, India

Introduction
This workshop discussed the endless possibilities that sport offer at the college and university level, to takers of all kinds –
students, sportspersons, researchers and general enthusiasts, and for givers – professors, veterans and policy makers. It also
discussed how sport in colleges and universities could be taken to the next level, so that it contributes to social development in
a larger perspective.

Moderator: Ms Nayana D Nimkar, Chandrashekhar Agashe College of Physical Education

1. Ms Nayana D Nimkar, Chandrashekhar Agashe College of Physical Education
2. Mr Devinder Kumar Kansal, University of Delhi
3. Mr Arjun J Chaudhuri, University of Delhi
4. Mr Arun Kumar Uppal, Amity University
5. Mr Graham Smith, EdgeHill University, UK

Participation: 75+

Key deliberations:
1. Ms Nayana D Nimkar
Ms Nayana D Nimkar moderated the last workshop of Maidan Summit
2011 that aimed to discuss about how to align the existing
curriculum in colleges and universities with the upcoming need of
taking sport to the next level, and using it in the context of
development around areas of education, health, gender and
livelihoods.

Contact Ms Nayana D Nimkar at nayananimkar@gmail.com
Know more about Chandrashekhar Agashe College of Physical Education at
www.agashecollege.org

2. Mr Devinder Kumar Kansal
Mr Devinder Kumar Kansal spoke about balancing of education in the
country at all levels. He suggested that sport should be seen as
foundation of the entire education system, and it should be
embedded right from the nascent stages. He recommended as many
partnerships as possible in the area, so that sport could directly find
connect with development in a general perspective.

He said that one needs to create a dedicated human environment in
colleges and universities that that supports a sporting culture, so
that there are maximum takers for it. Kansal reiterated the need to
formalize physical education at the school as well as the college and
university level.

Mr Devinder Kumar Kansal’s presentation is available at Maidan.in.

Contact Mr Devinder Kumar Kansal at devinderkansal@gmail.com

21 | P a g e

3. Mr Arjun J Chaudhuri
Mr Arjun J Chaudhuri took the audience through a brief history of
development of sport. He said that the state of affairs in India is
slowly moving from amateur to professional sporting, which is why
we can build upon a lot of new developments from within and
around the world to craft out sport-based programmes.

He also talked about the economics related to using sport for
development in the Indian context, citing a small reference to the
example of the industrial revolution of Europe. Arjun said that
development can only happen if the methods and processes are in
place.

Mr Arjun J Chaudhuri’s presentation is available at Maidan.in.

Contact Mr Arjun J Chaudhuri at arjun_chaudhuri@yahoo.com

4. Mr Arun Kumar Uppal
Mr Arun Kumar Uppal talked about identification of talent as a key
deliverable that sport sciences should offer. Highlighting five areas
of sport-oriented courses in colleges and universities, he mentioned
scientific sport training methodology, exercise physiology, sport
psychology, sport biomechanics, and sport medicine to be important
ingredients of sport curriculum in colleges and universities.

In his presentation, Mr Uppal detailed all five of these elements,
and elaborated on how their proper integration and use in sport
programmes can help sport contribute to the larger domain of
development.

Mr Arun Kumar Uppal’s presentation is available at Maidan.in.

Contact Mr Arun Kumar Uppal at drakuppal@rediffmail.com
Know more about the Amity University at www.amity.edu/aspess/default.asp

5. Mr Graham Smith
Mr Graham Smith in his presentation talked about the foundation of sport provisions in colleges and universities.
Sharing a model from EdgeHill University, he mentioned six main
categories for a good course on physical education and sport
sciences. These were sport and exercise sciences, sport
development, sport studies, sport therapy, coach education and
coaching science, and physical education and school sport. In the
course of his presentation, Smith elaborated on these categories in
light of the ones existing in India and other parts of the world.

He also mentioned that a certain passion about teaching physical
education is extremely important in deciding whether it goes a long
way or not. Encouraging fundamentals, Smith concluded by saying
that physical education and sport sciences is where sport starts.
Therefore, the vision of achieving a healthy, active population can
be achieved through it. Thus, it is for people involved in sports that
they have to challenge policy and graduate change. If we don’t do that, we let down sports, we let down change, he
said.

Mr Graham Smith’s presentation is available at Maidan.in.

Contact Mr Graham Smith at smithg@edgehill.ac.uk
Know more about the EdgeHill University at www.edgehill.ac.uk

Maidan Summit 2011 was driven by Magic Bus India Foundation under the kind auspices of Government of India’s Ministry of
Youth Affairs and Sports, the Australian Government’s Australian Sports Commission, the Government of UK’s British Council,
and University of Delhi. The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), Basix Academy for Building Lifelong
Employability (B-ABLE), the Abhinav Bindra Foundation, the Special Olympics Bharat (SOB), the International Award for Young
People (IAYP), the Naz Foundation, and SportzPower partnered with Magic Bus towards creating a successful Maidan for sport
for development in India.

22 | P a g e

Annexure 1

Workshop on Sport and Gender
Concept Note
REDUCING GENDER GAP IN SPORTS
WHAT MEN HAVE TO DO

Introduction: Sport can be an important tool for social empowerment through the skills and values it teaches, such as
teamwork, negotiation, leadership, communication and respect for others. The social benefits of participating in sports are
especially important for girls, given that many girls, particularly in adolescence, have fewer opportunities than boys to interact
socially outside the home. Through sports, women and girls acquire new interpersonal networks, develop a sense of identity and
access new opportunities, allowing them to become more engaged in school and community life. Participation in sports also
enables women and girls to express themselves freely through movement as well as increase their self-esteem and self-
confidence.
However, integration women and girls into the athletic sphere remains a challenge in India as well as globally, largely because
of deeply-rooted expectations about women’s place in society and challenges and barriers she faces in the sports arena which is
a masculine space to large extent. Men and boys play a critical role in perpetuating these social norms- and they can play a role
in changing them.

The benefits of sports for women: empowering women and girls: Sports can also be a medium through which to achieve
gender equality. Being involved in athletic activities can give women and girls access to public spaces, encourage freedom of
expression and foster a greater sense of self-ownership over their bodies. It can also increase girls’ self-esteem and enable them
to make choices about their lives in every sphere. It is a well-known fact that physical activity and competition in a supportive
environment are both psychologically and spiritually beneficial for girls. Therefore, participating in sports opens up an
opportunity to educate girls about effective communication, negotiation and leadership, all of which are essential for women’s
empowerment.

Barriers to women and girls in sports: Women’s role in leadership and decision making in the arena of sports remains limited
throughout the world. Women are underrepresented in all levels of sports be it coaching or management or commercial sporting
activities (United Nation, 2007). Moreover, women in decision making bodies of sports organizations at local, regional or
interpersonal levels are fewer in number. Hence, to increase gender equality in sports and women’s participation in leadership
and decision making, it is important to have women as leaders, be it as coaches or as heads of sports organizations.

Efforts to integrate women into sports often are successful at the inception. But retaining girls and women in the field of sports
remains a challenge because the field has commonly been classified as masculine domain, one that traditionally does not allow
girls and women to enter or stay for long. By doing so, the sports field reinforces many norms that dictate women’s role in a
society, thereby creating barriers for girls and women to enter the athletic space.

Sports instructors and coaches have a role in perpetuating this gender discrimination; many agree that India is a male dominated
country and men have the power in all spheres, including sports. A recent study by ICRW (Parivartan) that explored coaches’
attitudes towards gender equality found that many Mumbai -area coaches believed girls are not physically strong or technically
sound and that they are unable to keep up with boys in many sports, including cricket. Coaches are also uncomfortable coaching
boys and girls together, which appear to be another key constraint for girls’ participation in sports.

Social constraints further impede access to participation in sports and physical education by women and girls. Some constraints
are similar throughout the world, such as perception that women’s physical capabilities are inferior and unequal sharing of
domestic responsibilities, which imposes constraints on women’s involvement in community activities, including sports. A
common social constraint is the stereotyping a sport as “masculine” or “feminine”, which affects both male and female
participation, and can be difficult to overcome. Men can be branded as “effeminate” if they abstain from sporting activities.
Meanwhile, women are often channeled into “aesthetic” sports, such as gymnastics and ice-skating, where traits perceived as
“female” are exhibited (UN Report, 2000).

Another barrier to women and girls participating in athletic programmes is that they often are exposed to physical and verbal
abuse. Studies conducted in a number of countries indicate the prevalence of violence and harassment in sport. Women and
girls may face verbal harassment, including of sexual nature, which can originate from other athletes, coaches, managers,
spectators and family or community members.

Finally, there is common perception that sports people are viewed as role models who have a positive impact on individuals and
the broader community. But women and girls have few female role models to look up to. The number of women coaches is
meager, and women are under-represented in leadership and in governing bodies of sporting institutions. However, it is
important to consider that empowering women to be coach or role model will not only enhance female participation in sports
but also increase the equality in gender in sports.

What we need to do: A range of actors are addressing discrimination and inequalities in sport, including governments, the
United Nations system, sporting institutions and NGOs. Common strategies include awareness-raising, advocacy and gender –
sensitive policymaking and programming, using both gender mainstreaming approaches and women specific initiatives. Such
approaches are essential and require that sporting bodies and institutions identify and explicitly address the relevant gender
perspectives in all areas of activities. Initiatives that address this along with all forms of violence, exploitation and harassment

23 | P a g e

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