Sports can cut across barriers that divide societies, making them a powerful communication tool to support conflict prevention and peace-building efforts. When applied effectively, sports programs promote social integration and foster tolerance, help reduce tension and generate dialogue.

Besides the understanding of sports and participation in appropriate forms of physical activities, sports are easily accessible for all groups in society regardless of gender, age, ability, religion, nationality or ethnic background.

Many of the core values inherent in sports are compatible with the principles necessary for development and peace, such as fair play, cooperation, sharing and respect.

The life skills learned through sports help empower individuals and enhance psychosocial well-being such as increased resilience, self-esteem and touching others. These features of sports are beneficial folks of all ages but they are especially vital into the health development of youngsters who will inherent positions of power and responsibility in organizations.

More than stimulating economic growth, effectively designed sports programs strengthen basic human capabilities, create connections between individuals and teach core values and life skills. They are valuable tools to initiate social development and improve social cohesion, especially when implemented among youths.

When social and personal skills are combined, sports can be an effective medium to intervene in the person's ability to decide whether to abuse or even otherwise to abuse drugs. This is especially true when regions of sports are combined with mechanisms and structures providing drug-related information and life-skills training. Largely, factors that contribute to youths in order to crime include the absence of positive role models, regarding self-discipline and boredom.

Sports can tackle juvenile delinquency by helping youths make positive connections with adults and their peers, by integrating them into constructive activities within society and by providing useful activities.

Sports have been bringing people of all over the world together since early Olympics in Greece. Sports bring people a sense of accomplishment but more importantly, unity. Within the years, we have witnesses the extent and far reaching consequences of involvement in sports to the individual, community, organization, institution and the land.

The benefits are indeed tremendous and ideally sports can extend to previously uncharted territories of endeavors and manage human conflicts. Sports will continue to serve human development.

Charmaine is an author of Portable Keyboard , Goat Milk and Creatives