Throughout 2020, ConnectSport is working with the Sport for Development Coalition to focus attention, share best practice and stimulate debate around one particular strand of sport for social change per month.
After each new monthly theme has been announced, organisations which specialise - or have significant experience - in that subject area are invited to respond to our call for articles which will be shared on social media by ConnectSport and, where relevant, Coalition member organisations throughout the month. To make a submission, send a brief email outlining your article to hello@connectsport.co.uk.
Articles should be no longer than 500 words, ideally written from the perspective of a senior member of staff, and accompanied by suitable imagery. They should highlight innovative and collaborative ways of working, focus on providing solutions to common issues in the sector, and achieving positive social outcomes.
Organisations, their staff, supporters and beneficiaries are then invited to get involved in a Twitter takeover based on that month's theme which will usually take place on the last Monday evening of each month. This sees a senior representative from the month's 'lead organisation' join the Sport for Development Coalition for a question-and-answer session hosted live on the @ConnectSport Twitter account, usually between 8 and 9pm and using the hashtag #SportForDevelopmentCoalition. See highlights from previous takeovers here.
Check out the monthly themes and corresponding articles so far:
April 2020
GoodGym: What more could sport do for society?
March 2020
How is Sport for Development responding to the Coronavirus pandemic?
February 2020
Sport for Development Coalition: What are YOUR priorities for the SFDC?
January 2020:
Laureus: Sport and Sustainable Development - the next 10 years
December 2019: Building the trust of young people
Dallaglio RugbyWorks: 'It's time to trust our young people'
November 2019: Are 'hard to reach' communities really hard to reach?
Dame Kelly Holmes Trust: Are 'hard to reach communities really hard to reach?
October 2019: Children's rights and sport - could we do more?
Unicef UK: Children's rights and sport - could we do more?
September 2019: Modernising PE - the role of Sport for Development in Education
Youth Sport Trust: Modernising PE - the role of Sport for Development in Education
August 2019: How can professional sport help to increase the social impact of sport and physical activity?
Premiership Rugby: Sport for Development - the role of professional sport
July 2019: Does your coach workforce reflect your participants?
Coach Core: Do your coaches help to meet the needs of your community?
June 2019: How can we make disabled people's inclusion in sport the norm?
Access Sport: How do we make disabled people's inclusion the norm in sport?
Metro Blind Sport: The importance of sharing best practice
IMAS: Normalising the inclusion of disabled people in sport
Panathlon: No subtitute for 'proper inclusion'
May 2019: Sport for Development - the role of grassroots and community sport
Sported: Helping the grassroots to survive and thrive
Football Foundation: Supporting the social impact of sport
April 2019: Collaboration: The key to success?
Active Partnerships CEO - the value of collaboration
How corporate collaboration can increase social impact
Collaboration is key theme for conference
March 2019: Sport and mental health
Sport & Recreation Alliance marks Charter's fourth anniversary
Mind: Leading the way on sport and mental health
Offload: Using sport to re-design interventions for at-risk men
February 2019: Sport providing a safe place
Greenhouse Sports: Sport providing a safe place.
Football Beyond Borders: Using football as a safety net.
Mini Mermaid: Why the finish line is just the beginning.
January 2019: Building stronger communities through sport and physical activity
Mayor of London: How sport can unite our communities.
Dame Kelly Holmes Trust: Getting young lives back on track
Active Burngreave: Working at the 'speed of trust'
StreetGames: Building stronger communities
December 2018: Reducing crime through sport
HMYOI Feltham: Reforming young offenders through sport and physical activity
The inmates behind the world’s first prison parkrun
Switch Up: Breaking the cycle of violence
3Pillars Project: The value of contact sports in youth custody
StreetGames: Safer together through sport
November 2018: Employability through sport
Street League: Transparency could galvanise sector
By Royal command: The remarkable growth of Coach Core
Hitz: 10 years of making an impact
Sport 4 Life UK: Life skills essential for employability
StreetGames set standard for apprenticeships
October 2018: Empowering women and girls
Women in Sport: Challenging gender stereotypes through sport
The Change Foundation: Achieving gender parity
Cricket Without Boundaries: Giving girls an equal chance
How ‘Old Girls’ sparked a football revolution
We welcome suggestions for future monthly themes, and organisations are also invited to join the ConnectSport directory free of charge so they can be promoted alongside articles. Get in touch at hello@connectsport.co.uk.
