Policy Advocacy for Sport and Society (PASS)
Sport can contribute to social development, especially when it takes place off the field.
Overview
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Description:
The PASS project aims to increase citizens' participation and involvement in sport and social development, and to use this increased involvement to promote education, equality and common values within the European communities.
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Funding organization:
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Duration:
01.01.2024 - 31.12.2026
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Project Manager:
Prof. (FH) Dr. Louis Moustakas
Professor (FH) for Sports Management & Sports Sociology
Motivation & Methodology
European policy, based on the 2011 White Paper on Sport, has regularly highlighted the potential contribution of sport to inclusion, education, equality and shared values. Against this background, the European sports sector has responded to these policy objectives and aligned itself with them, in particular within the framework of the nascent Sport for Development (SFD) movement, which seeks to consciously use the power of sport to promote positive social development. To this end, these organizations often offer sports and social activities aimed at bringing different groups together, fostering social relations, promoting civic participation and developing life skills.
However, many of these programs and activities face a crucial challenge. Although these activities aim to promote inclusion, diversity and shared values, often working directly with disadvantaged or at-risk groups, their impact can be limited by a lack of coordination and support from political or institutional actors in their communities. This is problematic for two reasons. First, there may simply be a lack of awareness or coordination between the respective policies and the programs implemented, which in turn undermines the effectiveness and sustainability of the program. Second, political measures or environmental conditions within a community can actively counteract the results sought by the programs.
Objectives of the Project
Political lobbying is of crucial importance. On the one hand, it makes a bottom-up contribution to the design of relevant political measures, led by civil society. Secondly, it helps to provide important, relevant information to key stakeholders who can influence public policy. Despite these demands, there is little understanding or support in Europe for policy advocacy that links sport and social development. The Policy Advocacy for Sport and Society (PASS) project aims to address this gap by developing a comprehensive package of tools and resources to increase awareness and capacity for policy advocacy within the important and growing sport and social development sector. The PASS project will support European sport and social development actors to increase their participation and engagement in democratic life and enable them to use this engagement to promote education, equality and European values in and through sport in a sustainable way.
The PASS project aims to achieve these goals through three interlinked objectives in particular:
- Presenting current practices and challenges in the field of policy advocacy in the European sport and social development sector
- Raising awareness of the benefits and practices of policy advocacy in sport
- Build capacity and empower European sport and social development stakeholders to engage in policy advocacy
Finally, PASS will rely on a wide variety of partners (academic, sport-based network organizations, international civil/governmental actors and implementing NGOs) to map current advocacy activities, understand best practices and provide concrete tools for users.
