UNESCO Values Education through Sport Materials

The United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) has developed a set of materials to support their campaign to promote the role of sport in delivering values education. The materials consist of a motion design animation, a photo book, an info graphic, and a dedicated webpage. The Values Education through Sport (VETS) campaign seeks to promote the use of sport and physical activity as an entry point for the delivery of values education, both in schools and, more generally, in society. As sport promotes equality, inclusion, respect, and fairness, it is seen as a perfect entry point to promote these core values and to empower students to be engaged, motivated and active in society.

According to UNESCO, VETS programmes “support active learning, complement cognitive skills and give students increasing amounts of responsibility, and enhance their level of concentration and participation. VETS programmes are flexible and have a strong cross-curricular potential: they can reinforce existing curricula and can be streamed across different subjects, including physical education, civic and moral education, nutrition, biology, arts. Ultimately, these programmes help students to transfer and put values into action outside the school environment by getting engaged in their communities, making informed decisions, being sensitive, and respecting the others and the environment. VETS contributes to the development of self-confidence, active and healthy lifestyle choices, and an understanding of rights, supporting the delicate transition to the independence of adulthood.”

UNESCO has developed the following tools in order to create awareness around the benefits of sport values:

• an animated video, also available subtitled in French, which makes the case for using sport in order to empower learners to be self-determined, responsible, and contribute to society.
• The Power of Sport Values - this bilingual photo book, available in English-French and English-Portuguese, offers a collection of the best 15 entries of UNESCO’s photo contest on the power of sport values, selected from over 300 photos submitted by photographers from 76 countries all around the world. Photos from countries including Israel, India, South Sudan, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Cuba show how sports is being used to challenge discrimination, insecurity, and violence. Specifically, the images and accompanying texts highlight how sports can be used to create solidarity, mobilise, offer psycho-social support, encourage citizen engagement, transform stereotypes, and reinforce cultural heritage.
• an advocacy infographic, which highlights the power and benefits of sports values in delivering quality education (also available in French).
• VETS website