Sport for Development Programmes: Privatised Aid and Indigenous Sport in Australia and Canada

Sport has been said to have the unique capacity to draw in, and influence hard-to-reach groups and individuals from around the globe regardless of age, background, gender race, religion or status. Sport has also been shown to have the capacity to promote enhanced self-esteem, fitness, improved health, increased aspirations, leadership skills, team spirit, and as such it is thought to provide positive social outlets for marginalised and/or traumatised youth. With this in mind, many programmes have been established by non-government organisations (NGOs) that aim to impact the lives of Indigenous youth through the use of sport. In this project, we seek to understand the nature of Sport for Development (SfD) programmes provided for Indigenous youth in Australia.

This research is supported by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada grant.

This is a collaborative study with:

Professor Audrey Giles - University of Ottawa

Dr Lyndsay Hayhurst - York University

Professor Tony Rossi - Western Sydney University