Plans afoot to use Games to up common wealth

The sports ministers of the 54 Commonwealth countries are expected to take part in a meeting in New Delhi on October 4, a day after the inauguration of the CWG 2010. With ‘Sport for All’ on the agenda, the ministers would discuss use of sport for social and economic development for the two billion people that the Commonwealth accounts for.

Union Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs, M S Gill, will chair the fifth biennial meeting of Commonwealth Sports Ministers, which is intended to turn ‘sport for development’ as an integral part of the Commonwealth Youth Programme.

“At every turn, the Commonwealth has reaffirmed its belief that sport is for the many and not for the few and that it can be a powerful tool in positive social transformation. It can advance our most cherished goals in the Commonwealth—those of democracy, development and diversity,” said the Commonwealth Secretary General, Kamalesh Sharma.

The Commonwealth Secretariat based in London had in 2005 set up the Commonwealth Advisory Body on Sport or CABOS to promote the value of sport as a tool for social and economic development, including using sports to improve achievement and attendance in school, to improve health, create cohesive communities and tackle inequalities in society.

“While the inspiration provided by the Commonwealth’s sporting heroes is powerful, it is not enough to make a difference. It needs to be followed up with sustainable programmes if the promise of sport for development is to be realised. That is the urgent challenge facing the Commonwealth, and one which Ministers will be discussing in New Delhi,” said Bruce Kidd, head of CABOS, who will present a report at the meeting.