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UNESCO today
Karl-Heinz Köhler
2|2005
Sport - Fit, Fair and Peaceful
for ONE WORLD
The 6th International Project Day of the German UNESCO
Associated Schools Project (ASPnet) 2006
The International Project Day, which
takes place every two years, is one of
the core elements of the UNESCO Associated
Schools Project network in
Germany. Like a lot of other ASPnet
activities, it is aimed at enhancing Education
for Sustainable Development.
On April 26th 2006, the next Project
Day, ‘Sport – Fit, Fair and Peaceful for
One World’, will take place. In preparation
for the Project Day, all German
ASPnet schools are working on projects
related with this issue in 2005,
the International Year of Sports and
Physical Education, and in the first
months of 2006. They are cooperating
with other ASPnet schools in Germany
and in other countries. Many
schools which are not members of
this network will also participate. The
results will be presented during regional
meetings, in the German ASPnet
magazine and on the homepages
of the schools, as well as on the federal
website which is linked to them.
Under the title “Sport – Fit, Fair
and Peaceful for One World”, sev-
eral sub-topics will be discussed
and dealt with throughout the
projects.
Sport and Health
It is a long tradition of the network to
deal with one topic about education
for sustainable development during
each project day. In the context of
the next project day, this topic will
be health. This reflects the importance
of sport in maintaining health
at a high level in a ‘physically-inactive
media society’. As nowadays more
and more time is spent using modern
communication devices and
technology without actively moving
the body, the network wants to draw
the students’ attention to this issue
and its possible solutions. The heading
of the project day incorporates
this aspect with the word ‘fit’.
Sport and Violence Prevention
The two other adjectives in the
heading – ‘fair’ and ‘peaceful’ – also
reflect an important aspect of sustainability,
which is the prevention
of violence. Without the latter, violent
action often results in even
more violent revenge. Sport is a
useful instrument in disconnecting
students from violence, or keeping
students away from it in the first
place, as has been shown repeatedly
in scientific research. Young people,
in particular those with a poor
job outlook in the future, tend to be
violent. Therefore, it seems necessary
to offer opportunities for sport
as a means of violence prevention.
Scientists have found that sport activities
■ can reduce aggression and trigger
the need for physical movement
■ can help to develop existing physical
capabilities
■ can help to overcome fears and to
transfer self-confidence from sport
activities to other domains of
everyday life
■ tend to improve the relationships
of young people with each other,
with teachers and the environment