Beyond Sport is delighted to reveal that the global initiative has provided the platform for a new review into sport’s role in girls’ education, to be undertaken by UNGEI, the UN Girls Education Initiative, with support from UNESCO and UNICEF, Beyond Sport’s international development partner.
Following a meeting of key actors involved in sport and girls’ education at the Beyond Sport Summit 2010 in Chicago in September, funding has now been agreed by the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative for the consultancy process, which will look to establish a clear understanding of the issues facing girls’ education and the role that sport can play in tackling these issues.
To be undertaken between January and April 2011, the review will provide an overview of current understanding of how participation in sport, both in and out of school, can address common barriers faced by girls, including social norms, and improve access to and quality of education.
Following the completion of this review, a concise set of recommendations will be drawn up for all parties involved in girls’ education, from governments to NGOs at all levels, detailing how to increase access and quality of education opportunities for girls and young women through sport and physical education.
“Beyond Sport in Chicago provided the ideal platform to begin the dialogue around the role of sport in supporting girls’ education, which has led to UNGEI commissioning this research. This is the first step in a process which we hope will lead to girls around the world benefiting from the power of sport and improving their education as a result,” says Liz Twyford, II Programme Specialist at UNICEF.
The announcement is the latest example of the Beyond Sport Effect – a series of tangible impacts, initiated through Beyond Sport, on the use of sport as a vehicle for positive social change.
UNICEF is one of three global partners to Beyond Sport, along with Barclays Spaces for Sports and TIME International.
For further information visit www.beyondsport.org.
