The Magglingen Declaration

This declaration represents our commitment to sport and development.

While accepting the diversity of sports, we believe it is a human right and an ideal learning ground for life’s essential skills. We acknowledge the possibilities and values sport offers, and declare that:

– Sporting activity can improve people’s physical and mental health at a low cost, and is essential for development.

– Making physical education and sports a part of the schooling system helps kids perform better, and improves their quality of life.

– Play and recreation can help to heal emotional scars, and overcome trauma for people in situations of conflict, crises or social tension.

– Local sports is the ideal place for bringing people from all walks of life together, and help to build societies.

– Sport can help to overcome barriers of race, religion, gender, disability, and social background.

– Sport is effective when practiced free of drugs or doping, in a fair way, with respect, and including everyone.

– By committing to ethical practices, the sports goods industry adds value to its products, and helps to build society in a positive way.

– Partnership between the sports world, media, and development workers will boost understanding of the contribution sport can make to sustainable development.

All this can be achieved by making sport an important part of national and international development work. Therefore, we call upon governments, United Nations agencies, sports federations, the sports goods industry, media, businesses, NGOs, and ordinary people, to contribute to sport for development.

Magglingen is a first step in our commitment to create a better world through sport.