The UNESCO Research Chair Sport for Development, Peace and the Environment in a Multidisciplinary and Global Perspective’ focuses on sport, physical activity and physical education initiatives and projects that are implemented to respond in particular to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targeted by the United Nations (SDGs 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 13, 16, 17). It brings together experts from every continent, in many languages, on several themes to offer a global, multidisciplinary and collaborative vision of research work between so-called “North” and “South” countries. It focuses primarily on collaborative projects, or the creation of partnerships at several levels (local, regional, national or international) and between several players (researchers, civil society, administrators, beneficiaries). The Chair also places particular emphasis in its projects on disadvantaged and marginalized populations (e.g., refugees, Aboriginals, young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, girls and women).
Chair’s members
Karen Petry
Karen Petry (PhD) is a Professor and Deputy Head of the Institute of European Sport Development and Leisure Studies at the German Sport University Cologne. Karen is responsible for the research activities at national, European and international level in the areas of sports policy and sports sociology (incl. the topics “sport and gender equity” and “sport and social cohesion”). She has worked on numerous European and international projects and is i.a. board member of the recently founded Sport for Development (S4D) Network Germany.
Tegwen Gadais
Tegwen Gadais is a professor at Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Canada. He taught physical education in several educational institutions, at various levels and with various clienteles. He also has an expertise in international cooperation and development where he continues to work with various organizations in developing countries. His current research focuses on physical education, health education, outdoor physical activity and education, climate change, sport for development and peace, as well as the development of human being in a holistic and complex approach.
Simona Šafaříková
Dr. Simona Šafaříková works as an assistant professor at Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic. She is based at the Department of Development and Environmental Studies and at the same time she teaches at the Faculty of Physical Culture. She is involved in the topic of Sport for Development and Peace. Through her work, she makes the bridge between development and sports studies. Her work focuses on the role of sports in the development of social change and the impacts of physical activities on the solution of development problems. She has already published academic articles in the field of sport and development. In her sport for development research, she has been focused on Latin America (mainly Colombia, Brazil, and Uruguay). She has field experience from different countries and regions – e.g., Colombia, Mexico, Uganda, South Africa, Morocco, Mongolia, and Bhutan.
Billy Graeff
Billy Graeff is an Associate Professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande in Brazil, teaching the sociology of sports and Olympic studies and Co-President of the Scientific Committee of the UNESCO Chair on Sport for Development, Peace and the Environment. He is also a Research Fellow within the Centre for Sport Leadership at Stellenbosch University, South Africa, and part of the International Sociology of Sport Association (ISSA – Executive Board – General Secretary 2024/2027), the International Olympic Academy Participants Association (IOAPA), the Latin American Association of Sociocultural Studies of Sport (ALESDE) and the Brazilian College of Sports Sciences (CBCE).
Scientific committee
Umair Asif
Billy Graeff
Jeremy Hapeta
Oscar Mwaanga
Simona Šafaříková
Ben Sanders
Vanessa García González
Advisory committee
Ernest Acheampong
Jennifer Brazeau
Sally-Ann Jennifer Fischer
Eric Hoddy
Louis Moustakas
Leonardo Rodrigues
Edna Thangu
Mazen Al-Khatib
Kelsey Dancause
Stéphane Hamouis
Matthew Holmes
Luk Parlavecchio
Isha Saxena
Cecilia Vales
Lyn Ametewee
Ludovic Dau
Klára Hellebrandova
Marion Keim
Danilo Ponciano
Rochelle Stewart-Withers
Tamara Awartani
Laurie Decarpentrie
Laurie Decarpentrie holds a PhD in psychology from the Université du Québec à Montréal. She is interested in human development in extreme contexts, in an international perspective. In the context of research and training support, she collaborates with organizations in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in Madagascar that work to promote the development and social cohesion of young people from marginalized groups. Her current research focuses on the effects of extracurricular activities, such as music, art and sport, on the well-being of vulnerable young people developing in extreme contexts
Kazem Hojbari
Samia Khatib
Alana Richardson
Arnošt Svoboda
Arnošt Svoboda is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Physical Culture, Palacký University Olomouc, Czech Republic. Arnost is a sociologist interested in the theory and research of the cultural and social role of sport and its impact on the social cohesion in communities, sport for development and newly emerging sporting disciplines. Arnost is also a member of the International Sociology of Sport Association. He has recently participated in research projects in Latin America, Saudi Arabia and the Czech Republic. He has coordinated several Erasmus+ projects that introduce students to the Sport for Development topic and build networks of experts in this field.