UK Takes Vice-Chair Role on Leading UNESCO Sport Committee

The UK will be represented in this role by Professor Richard Giulianotti and Dr Rachel Sandford, who co-lead the UNESCO Chair in Sport, Physical Activity and Education for Development at Loughborough University.

CIGEPS is UNESCO’s main committee for developing and implementing policy and strategy in sport and physical education (PE), to promote their contributions to development, education, equality, and health. Membership of CIGEPS is restricted to 18 member states at any one time, each serving a four-year term, with three member states representing each of UNESCO’s six main regional groups. The UK is Vice-Chair on behalf of Group 1 (Western Europe and North America), while the new CIGEPS Chair is Egypt, led by Dr Ashraf Sobhy, Minister of Youth and Sport.

For the next few years, CIGEPS will be primarily focused on delivering UNESCO’s flagship global initiative, ‘Fit for Life’, which seeks to increase grassroots sport and PE participation to: tackle inactivity and chronic disease; support the development of quality and inclusive sport and PE; empower young people through values education; support teachers and coaches to deliver quality curricula; and build evidence to support targeted investments in sport and PE. To date, Fit for Life has developed several priority action areas, including on quality PE (QPE), impact investment in sport, the sustainability of major sport events, gender equality, tackling violence against women and girls, and creating a global anti-racism network.

The UK is well-positioned to take the lead on CIGEPS. UK government departments, sport federations and clubs, NGOs, universities, and other key stakeholders have diverse, internationally recognised expertise in sport and PE, in vital areas such as developing effective policies, frameworks and standards, utilising innovative funding models, staging highly successful events, and implementing programmes that have strong outcomes for participants. At the same time, sport and PE are areas where the UK can leverage significant soft power and diplomacy.

The UK is very well placed to take this lead role on CIGEPS. UK government departments, sport federations and clubs, NGOs, universities, and other key stakeholders have diverse, internationally recognised expertise in sport and PE, in vital areas such as developing effective policies, frameworks and standards, utilising innovative funding models, staging highly successful events, and implementing programmes that have strong outcomes for participants. At the same time, sport and PE are areas in which the UK has the potential to exercise high levels of soft power and diplomacy.

The Loughborough Chair team are ideally positioned to continue leading the UK’s work on CIGEPS. Co-led by Professor Giulianotti and Dr Sandford, with support from deputies Dr Oliver Hooper and Dr Serhat Yilmaz, the Chair features a large wider team of over 40 academics and over 30 students (as part of the ‘Loughborough UNESCO Student Network’), with expertise across many areas of sport, physical activity and PE.

Indeed, one group of experts, led by Dr Sandford, has recently co-authored with UNESCO a comprehensive report and set of policy recommendations on global quality physical education as part of the Fit for Life programme. Chair team members have also contributed to many other UNESCO events and initiatives, including MINEPS VII (UNESCO’s global sport and PE conference, in Baku 2023) and the Knowledge Innovation Network (which provides research-based data, analysis and advice to UNESCO). The Chair benefits from Loughborough University’s global reputation in sport and PE, having been ranked 1st in sport-related subjects for nine consecutive years in the QS World University Rankings. The Chair also reflects the University’s wider strategic commitment to working with UNESCO. Loughborough now has three UNESCO Chairs (the two others are in Informatics and Multi-Hazard Risk Research, and in Storytelling Education for Sustainability), staged a UNESCO Day in July this year, and will host the UK UNESCO Chairs conference in July next year.