International Academic Symposium, 18.06.2024, GSU Cologne

Date: 18 June 2024, 11.30 - 15.30 pm

Venue: German Sport University, Cologne, Building II, Senator Room (ground floor)

Programme:Agenda

International sport politics usually has a focus on the IOC and the international sports federations, which are generally responsible for the organization and development of their respective sports worldwide. By contrast, transnational or international organizations are among the actors in international sports policy that have received little attention to date. This neglect of state actors at international level can be explained by the dominant role of international sports organizations, but also by the limited readiness of (European) countries to become more involved in international sports policy and to engage in more comprehensive networking.

The UN system has a special position at international level, in which state actors have at least occasionally or selectively been involved in sports policy. As a relevant UN actor in the fields of education, science and culture, UNESCO has been involved in sport policy issues since 1978 through its Intergovernmental Committee for Physical Education and Sport (CIGEPS). The most visible format of this activity is the International Conference of Ministers and Senior Officials responsible for Physical Education and Sport (MINEPS), which last took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, in 2023. The document adopted there, the "Fit for Life Alliance", is primarily of an encouraging nature and does not establish internationally binding regulations. The most recent MINEPS VII conference in particular documents the weak response to such activities: In Germany, there was only a very limited media response to MINEPS VII and there was also generally only limited interest from European countries in becoming more involved into the recent UNESCO activities.

Against the backdrop of these developments, the symposium, organized jointly with the German Commission for UNESCO, will shed light on the extent to which German sports policy is prepared to get involved in UNESCO activities and thus assume responsibility in terms of international sports policy. These and other questions will be discussed with experts and representatives from politics, the DOSB and GIZ.

In a second part of the event, the objectives and work program of the new UNESCO Co-Chair established at the Institute for European Sport Development and Leisure Studies will be presented. The UNESCO Chair entitled "Sport for Development, Peace and Environment in a Multidisciplinary and Global Perspective" has been established at the University of Montreal (UQAM) (Chairholder: Prof. Dr. Tegwen Gadais), with Dr. Karen Petry acting as Co-Chair. The other participating researchers from the Czech Republic (Prof. Simona Safarikova) and Brazil (Prof. Billy Graeff) will jointly present the work program for the next four years.

The symposium has the character of an expert workshop; participation is only possible for a small group of people after confirmation of registration.

Agenda

Please register via email.

Deadline of registration: 12 June 2024
Registration email:iesf@­dshs-koeln.de

Contact

email: iesf@dshs-koeln.de - phone: +49 221 4982-2410
Institute of European Sport Development and Leisure Studies
Am Sportpark Müngersdorf 6
50933 Cologne, Germany

Responsibles
Dr. Karen Petry, Prof. Dr. Jürgen Mittag (IESF)
Dr. Roman Luckscheiter, Dr. Lutz Möller (Deutsche UNESCO Kommission)