Sorbonne

I was at the European Negotiation Conference at Sorbonne University in Paris last week. It focussed on how to bridge divides and build cooperation in humanitarian, multilateral and other complex situations where diplomatic tools need to be at their sharpest. Sport as means to resolve conflict sat alongside discussions on mediation and negotiation strategies, with community-based examples from Cyprus, Northern Ireland, Israel and the US.

Watching the UK news this week with headlines dominating from Northern Ireland, the US and Israel brought these examples into sharp focus. On the one hand, demonstrating the limitations of sport as a cure-all miracle form of diplomacy. But on the other hand and with a longer-term perspective, reaffirming to me that creative solutions to build and restore community cohesion are needed more than ever.  Kudos therefore to Francesco Marchi and the team for putting community sport on the conference agenda.

A recurring theme from the Sorbonne Conference was the need for creative spaces for creative diplomatic solutions, not least given reductions in governmental overseas development assistance and a doubling down towards reductive national interest across many regions. Less resource and less space for diplomacy.

I reckon that community sport must be up there as a creative space as well as an effective tool for global good. It already smashes the health impact bang for buck outside the park (fascinating study on exercise as more effective than drugs in preventing recurrence of cancer). It is easy to nurture with the right support. And it is proven to bring people and communities together. Community sport: cheap, effective, convenes and is utterly in the national interest to ensure that people are happy and healthy. What government could say no to that development and diplomatic open goal?

We just need to give a nudge towards greater cohesion amongst global community sport leaders and the international system to realise the international development and diplomatic potential, whilst creating a virtuous circle of support to community sport leaders. I’ll bring some ideas around exactly how to do that to next week’s UK Government working group on sport for diplomacy.