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ICSS INSIGHT plays central role at MINEPS VI Conference

Top experts from the International Centre for Sport Security INSIGHT (ICSS INSIGHT) joined forces with sports ministers, NGOs and other leading sports policy and integrity experts from around the world to contribute to adoption of the ‘Kazan Action Plan’ at the Sixth International Conference of Ministers and Senior Officials Responsible for Physical Education and Sport (MINEPS VI).

With nearly 600 participants, including over 60 sport ministers and senior officials representing 116 UNESCO Member states, gathering in Kazan, Russia, the MINEPS VI conference signalled an important shift from policy intent to action by encouraging countries and member states to acknowledge 20 strategic goals grouped across three main policy areas.

As part of the ICSS’s overall mission to help safeguard sport and building on its previous work to help strengthen sport integrity policy at an international level, ICSS INSIGHT experts – led by CEO Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros – helped facilitate a special meeting with UNESCO, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) and several other governments on the integrity of sport and the implementation of the Kazan Action Plan, which was adopted at MINEPS VI.

Held under the auspices of the Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA) in association with UNESCO, the meeting was attended by senior representatives of both institutions, leaders of the CPLP and other senior government representatives – including Ministers, Secretaries of State and Director Generals.

The initiative aimed to build on a key strategic agreement between the ICSS and CPLP to help strengthen sport integrity policy across the region and internationally, including various key agreements, meetings and projects – including the ICSS-UNESCO MINEPS V follow-up meeting – the ICSS has signed and developed since the organisation was established in 2010.

Alongside the CPLP meeting, ICSS INSIGHT CEO, Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros , also spoke on a high-level panel at MINEPS VI entitled “Protecting the Integrity of Sport”. The panel featured representatives from the World Anti-Doping Agency, SportAccord, Play the Game, the World Players Association and Sport and Rights Alliance.

Speaking of the ICSS’s contribution to MINEPS VI conference, Mohammed Hanzab, ICSS Chairman, said:

“The MINEPS VI conference and the resulting Kazan Action Plan are a significant step forward in international efforts to safeguarding sport, as well as the development of coordinated, consistent and internationally-recognised sport integrity policies that actively promote good governance and integrity, as well as many other integrity challenges that sport now faces.

“Since it was established in 2010, the ICSS has encouraged and worked alongside stakeholders across all sectors to identify new ways to combat the many security and integrity challenges that sport now faces.

“As a significant breakthrough in international sport policy development, the Kazan Action Plan and policies adopted at MINEPS VI represent an important milestone for many countries and organisations around the world. On behalf of the ICSS, I look forward to working with UNESCO, the CPLP and other governments and stakeholders to help implement the actions adopted by member States at this conference.”

Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros, ICSS INSIGHT CEO, added:

“The Kazan Action Plan is major step forward for sport integrity policy development. We are delighted that the ICSS INSIGHT has been able to make an active contribution to bringing together governments and key stakeholders and urge the much-needed transition from policy intent to effective action.

“The CPLP are a significant and influential region and this meeting held at MINEPS VI showed that UNESCO, SIGA, ICSS INSIGHT, the CPLP and its member States, as well as all other countries in the room are committed and ready to work together to bring these actions to life and implement them to safeguard sport and what it really stands for.”

With first pledges made by China, France, Japan (an Observer country in the CPLP) and Russian Federation to support the international implementation, the Kazan Action Plan is an important shift from policy intent to action and encourages countries and member states to acknowledge 20 strategic goals grouped across three main policy areas.

These include:

• Developing a Comprehensive Vision of Inclusive Access for All to Sport, Physical Education and Physical Activity

• Maximizing the Contributions of Sport to Sustainable Development and Peace

• Protecting the Integrity of Sport

The Kazan Action Plan also sets out five concrete actions in the field of sport ethics, inclusion and sustainability, which the member states will commit to by adopting the document:

1. Elaborate an advocacy tool presenting evidence-based arguments for investments in physical education, physical activity and sport.

2. Develop common indicators for measuring the contribution of physical education, physical activity and sport to prioritized SDGs and targets.

3. Unify and further develop international standards supporting sport ministers’ interventions in the field of sport integrity (in correlation with the International Convention against Doping in Sport).

4. Conduct a feasibility study on the establishment of a Global Observatory for Women, Sport, Physical Education and Physical Activity.

5. Develop a clearinghouse for sharing information according to the sport policy follow-up framework developed for MINEPS VI.

For more information on MINEPS VI, please visit http://en.mineps2017.com/

ICSS INSIGHT champions the highest of standards in sports governance, financial integrity and transparency and delivers a range of thought leadership initiatives, collective action, independent research and intelligence and investigations.

If your organisation is interested in ICSS INSIGHT sport integrity services, please contact info@theicss.org