The unique potential of sports to contribute towards achieving development has been recognized by the United Nations through a multitude of resolutions adopted by then General Assembly as well as the Human Rights Council. The contribution of sports was thus also recognized when the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted in 2015.

Travel retail is playing a key role in a new three-nation sports programme which aims to break barriers to social inclusion through wheelchair sports. [...] The initiative includes coaching by the participating teams in wheelchair sports including rugby, basketball and tennis. The aim is to empower them by learning new skills and encourage them to empower other disabled people who do not yet practice any sport to take up an activity.

Radicals don’t wake up one day and join Isis or Al Shabaab. Extremism fills a gap; preying on people who feel lost, confused and excluded from society. For some without hope, extremism can offer something different: a future of freedom, adventure and purpose. It also provides food, clothing and protection. [...] We must recognise the importance of soft power to address hard-hitting issues.