About

The aim of the project is to contribute to innovation in the area of sport studies and development studies. It fosters participatory approaches in explaining how sport and physical activities can be harnessed as a tool for further social development and for the creation of social changes.

Students will gain new knowledge from the area of SDP (Sport for Development and Peace), they will work in international groups, discuss current problems and learn from different examples how sport can contribute to their solution. Through the participation in the different project activities the students will get answers to the following questions:

How can be social change reached through sport and physical activity?
How do different SDP organisations from all around the world work using sport to tackle conflict, social inclusion or HIV/AIDS education?
How can be such SDP project prepared and implemented?
How do big sporting events contribute or not to socio- economic development of a certain country?

Sport as a Tool

Sport and physical activities have become important tools in international and local development and in addressing social issues such as conflict resolution, reconciliation, community building, social exclusion and human development. Sport is used as a vehicle to approach different processes within society but is often perceived only at the elite, professional level. Even at universities, within sport studies and development studies programmes, sports’ social role is often neglected.

Project Aims

The GloKnoCo project aims to establish best practice for the teaching and dissemination of Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) projects across the EU and internationally in order to establish recommendations for the EU higher education sector, member states’ institutions and partner institutions. The project seeks to start a dialogue between universities and different stakeholders to ensure that the teaching of SDP courses addresses the needs of the sector whilst helping NGOs to engage with research.

Schedule

Each year the partners will jointly organise an intensive course focusing on SDP topics for 36 students from the partner universities. It will be followed by online activity of students working groups on specific SDP project proposals and it will be ended by a study trip to SDP organisations where the participants will have the possibility to discuss real problems and practical impacts of the implementation of SDP programs. The results (SDP methodologies, recommendations for teaching and policy, etc.) will be shared online and presented to various stakeholders at conferences organised during the lifetime of the project.

Outcomes

Participants

Call for applications will be conducted at each university every year (UPOL, UoB, UPB) for students from undergraduate and graduate study programmes linked to development studies, leisure and sport sciences. Applicants will be selected based on their motivation. During the project the participants will have an opportunity to learn from a diverse range of perspectives from all around the world.

Intensive One Week Courses

2 students from each university will participate every year in intensive 7-days course focusing on SDP (Sport for Development and Peace). Each time held in different city (Olomouc, Brighton, Paderborn)

Blended Learning

Between the intensive course and the field trip students from universities and young workers from NGOs will be involved in online work - preparing project proposal where sport should be used as a tool of social change.

Field Trips

Every year 5-days field trip to visit different stakeholders in SDP will be organised (Berlin, Belfast and Brussels).

Participatory Approaches

Students will be working in international teams during the intensive course, blended activity and the field trip.

Sport as a Tool

Main focus of the project is to make visible how sport can be used as a tool that contributes to solve different issues

International Dimensions

The program is prepared by the international team of scholars from different universities and NGO workers from four different countries. Concrete examples from the field will be shared with the students.

GloKnoCo

Global Sport for Development
and Peace Knowledge Collaborative:
Using sport as a tool for social changes.

The aim of the project is to contribute
to innovation in the area of sport studies
and development studies.

The project was supported by the ERASMUS+ Programme of the European Union, the Grant Agreement number:
2019-1-CZ01-KA203-061224

Contact

Arnošt Svoboda
arnost.svoboda@upol.cz

Department of Social Sciences in Kinanthropology
Faculty of Physical Culture
Palacky University Olomouc

Links

Palacký University Olomouc
Paderborn University
University of Brighton

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