This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Commonwealth Sports Development Conference
14/09/2006
Glasgow is set to host the first ever Commonwealth Sports Development Conference this week welcoming more than 150 delegates from across the 71 member nations including Canada, Australia, Fiji, South Africa, Malta, India and Jamaica.
Organised by the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland as part of its 75th anniversary celebrations, the conference aims to share the unique capacity of sport to both change lives and bring people of different cultures and circumstances together.
Through a series of presentations speakers will show how, by utilising often scant resources, communities with little or no previous involvement in sport or physical activity can be reached and lives changed.
Louise Martin CBE, Chairman of the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland said:
"Scotland was one of the 11 founder members of the Games movement and has enjoyed extensive involvement and success as part of this special family. We have always been keen to be at the leading edge of the Commonwealth and in 2000 we introduced the successful Commonwealth Youth Games which continue to go from strength to strength. This year as part of our 75th anniversary celebrations we have decided to establish a platform to share and celebrate the exciting work in sports development that is taking place across the Commonwealth.
"We are particularly delighted that Michael Fennell, President of the Commonwealth Games Federation has agreed to open this inaugural event, as well as taking the opportunity to visit Glasgow and see for himself some of our exciting plans for Scotland's 2014 Commonwealth Games bid."
Sport Minister Patricia Ferguson said:
"As the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland celebrates its 75th anniversary it is fitting that the inaugural Commonwealth Sports Development Conference is being held here in Scotland.
"Sport enables people to come together, it provides common ground and it can remove barriers. The development of sport is pivotal to the health, well being and self esteem of a nation.
"The government wants to make participation in sport part of Scotland's psyche and not just a passion to be enjoyed from an armchair."
Key conference themes include: Day 1 Developing sports and developing people through sport; Day 2 Sport's wider social role.