Sport, social development, education and human rights: a critical philosophical perspective According to the Olympic Charter and many declarations and documents of the United Nations and the European Union, sport is a human right. Everybody has the right to health, social inclusion and leisure: this is the reason why the above mentioned international organizations look at sport, which always implies both a healthy practice and ludic activity, as a key means to promote the fundamental rights of people as human beings and citizens. As a human right, sport should be promoted and developed in such a way that the most number of people can practice it in everyday life in the best possible way. The IOC, the United Nations and the European Commission always emphasize that sport is connected with the level of development of a society or a country. As sport is both culture and education, and a practice that is affected by them, people’s involvement in sport is the indicator of the level of social inclusion and well-being achieved in a given community. To be clear, sport is a human practice belonging to the fourth generation of human rights. Starting from this introductory conceptual background, and from this point of view focused on the concept of sport as a fourth generation human right, our study aims to reflect, from a philosophical point of view and in a critical perspective, on the relationship between sport and development, wondering what is the true meaning of “development” in a global and capitalistic society. The main goal of our philosophical reflection is to dismantle some ambiguous discourses and statements on sport as a human right and indicator of social development made by the above mentioned international organizations. We are convinced, in fact, that the discourse on sport as a human right is often just a simple and ambiguous statement that hides instead the presence of a discourse that implies both discrimination and exclusion rather than social inclusion. To conclude, we want to demonstrate that the philosophy of sport, as a critical approach to sport and its main issues, can help educators, teachers and all the people involved in the organizations that promote this practice, think critically and avoid the presence of the so called “hidden curriculum” in the discourse which conceives sport as a human right and key factor for social development. This reflection will be useful to rethink, from a social, real, and active perspective instead of from a merely rhetorical one, contemporary human rights education, in which sport always plays a fundamental role.
Sport, social development, education and human rights: a critical philosophical perspective
ISIDORI E
2013-01-01
Abstract
Sport, social development, education and human rights: a critical philosophical perspective According to the Olympic Charter and many declarations and documents of the United Nations and the European Union, sport is a human right. Everybody has the right to health, social inclusion and leisure: this is the reason why the above mentioned international organizations look at sport, which always implies both a healthy practice and ludic activity, as a key means to promote the fundamental rights of people as human beings and citizens. As a human right, sport should be promoted and developed in such a way that the most number of people can practice it in everyday life in the best possible way. The IOC, the United Nations and the European Commission always emphasize that sport is connected with the level of development of a society or a country. As sport is both culture and education, and a practice that is affected by them, people’s involvement in sport is the indicator of the level of social inclusion and well-being achieved in a given community. To be clear, sport is a human practice belonging to the fourth generation of human rights. Starting from this introductory conceptual background, and from this point of view focused on the concept of sport as a fourth generation human right, our study aims to reflect, from a philosophical point of view and in a critical perspective, on the relationship between sport and development, wondering what is the true meaning of “development” in a global and capitalistic society. The main goal of our philosophical reflection is to dismantle some ambiguous discourses and statements on sport as a human right and indicator of social development made by the above mentioned international organizations. We are convinced, in fact, that the discourse on sport as a human right is often just a simple and ambiguous statement that hides instead the presence of a discourse that implies both discrimination and exclusion rather than social inclusion. To conclude, we want to demonstrate that the philosophy of sport, as a critical approach to sport and its main issues, can help educators, teachers and all the people involved in the organizations that promote this practice, think critically and avoid the presence of the so called “hidden curriculum” in the discourse which conceives sport as a human right and key factor for social development. This reflection will be useful to rethink, from a social, real, and active perspective instead of from a merely rhetorical one, contemporary human rights education, in which sport always plays a fundamental role.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
