Conference grants available for Play the Game 2009
09.01.2009
By Ida Relsted KærupGrants are available for media professionals, sports researchers, sports leaders and other relevant persons from less privileged countries. Subsidies primarily go to people from developing countries, but applicants from other countries outside the EU may also be considered.
Play the Game 2009 will be held in the British city of Coventry from 8 – 12 June 2009, and is to be co-hosted by the Centre for the International Business of Sport, a research centre at the University of Coventry.
The conference will focus upon “visions for sport in times of crisis”. Conference themes will include:
Ethics in governance:Will sports federations come clean?
Between Beijing and London: Mega-events as drivers of development
Business battles: The power struggles in football
Match-fixing: A blow to the core of sport
Terrible teenagers? Sport’s quest for the hearts and minds of the youth
Anti-Doping: Will the technological arms race come to an end?
Paralympic athletes: More different than the rest?Sport for the Good: What is it good for?
The decision upon who will be awarded grants will be made by representatives of the governing board of Play the Game in March/April this year. When making their decision, board members will consider whether:
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the applicant plays an active role in the sports debate in his or her home country and can prove a long-term interest in the conference themes
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the applicant can add value to Play the Game’s agenda by reporting on conference issues to national media, by presenting papers during the conference, by entering in panel discussions, by contributing to Play the Game’s own news production or in other ways
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the applicant may be able to cover part of the total travel and conference costs
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the total selection of grant holders represent a mix of earlier participants and newcomers
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that a fair distribution of grants is achieved with respect to gender, age, geographical origin, function in the public sports debate etc.
Applications must be received by 2 March 2009, 15:00 CET at the latest.
For more information about grants application procedures, as well as more information about the conference, visit the Play the Game 2009 homepage at www.playthegame.org/2009 and click on "Grants".
Dr.Vandana Gupta
Lecturer, Physical Education, V.M.L.G College, Ghaziabad, India
Abstract
Sport may be defined as a ‘recreational or competitive activity that involves some amount of physical strength or skill’. Global Integration is a state of harmony between communities or nations, devoid of violence and war. Sports do, and have great potential for bringing people together, fostering unity, understanding, tolerance and love among people, which are essential ingredients in the promotion of peace. Sports in modern world are helping gel nations together. The positive influence of sport on all aspects of human life - its benefits of instituting mutual understanding across divisions of race, culture and gender - means that its importance ought to be recognized in peace-building and global reconciliation initiatives. Politics in this new globalised world has become a secondary tool for achieving results. Sporting events help cool inflamed situations. In contemporary times wars are averted through sports. Cricket diplomacy is an important tool of foreign policy in South Asia, land of 1.2 billion people. The combined aggression let out by fans in the grounds of Eden Gardens, Calcutta, has more firepower than many a big war theater in South Asia. It soothes nations in a peaceful manner; seeing their opponent being slaughtered heals a lot of old wounds. What a peaceful way to achieve satisfaction of victory over hated foes. After 26 November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, the English team cut short their tour and returned home. There was considerable doubt about whether they would be back for two test series. But after the Indian cricket board shifted the first test out of Mumbai to Chennai , and security arrangements were beefed up, the English agreed to return. Much of the credit for this decision goes to English skipper Kevin Pieterson who spoke of the need to stand “shoulder to shoulder with the Indian people in their time of need to stand” and convince his teammates to do so. The U.K media also urged the players to play the test series in India as a mark of respect to the dead and wounded .The resumption of play helped to bring normalcy in India. The major sports events feature athletes from various nations and all of them follow universal moral principles. Global sports events like Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and SAF games bring the nations together. Athletes develop friendships, on the pitch, off the pitch and in game villages at festivals such as the Olympics, the World Athletics Championships and the Commonwealth Games which many a time become life-long relationships. These activities have rippling positive effects on human advancement. With these examples the impact of sports on peace development cannot be questioned.