Closing the Gap

Nelson Mandela: How do you inspire your team to do their best?
Francois Pienaar: By example. I've always thought to lead by example, sir.
Nelson Mandela: Well, that is right. That is exactly right. But how do we get them to be better then they think they CAN be? That is very difficult, I find. Inspiration, perhaps. How do we inspire ourselves to greatness when nothing less will do? How do we inspire everyone around us? I sometimes think it is by using the work of others.

Closing the gap

Invictus: defines the roles of strength, both personal and national, and the potency of empowerment in community development. Now, I believe we are quite aware that the film uses sport as a vehicle for community development but it is the first time since the start of this course that I have really begun to see that community development is truly building bridges between two people (poor and rich, black and white, etc….). Now, I apologize in advance for the painful symbolic nature of my blog this week and please bear with me as I geek out in the figurative nature of the cinematic techniques.

One of the most powerful scenes for me is right at the beginniww.ng of the Invictus when we see the two extremely different cultures playing rugby.  On one side, you see the young black South Africans playing on a dirt field with no real rules. The fence between them and the road is practically chicken wire and in some spots, is not even stable enough to hold up. On the other side, the white South Africans are running rugby drills on beautiful, lush green grass with a fence taller than most made of steal. The use of fences is something that intrigued me about this part of the movie. Fences, as we all know, define barriers. I like that the fence of the black South Africans is insubstantial compared to that of the white South Africans because it demonstrates the context of the movie. The white South Africans have their guard up ever since Mandela leaves prison/becomes president and it’s funny that it is through rugby and letting down these barriers that the Springboks create their own community. Furthermore, the idea of bridging that gap between the two races is solidified and symbolized when Nelson Mandela drives through the street in his convoy out of prison, as he is truly the one who connections these two nationalities trapped in one nation.

The community development within the team is another aspect of the movie that was almost too heart warming to bear. Taking time out of their busy schedules, the Springboks spend an afternoon teaching rugby to a group of underprivileged black South African children. It is the first time we see the team interacting and having fun with one another. This relates to community development in the sense that one) Community Development is fun and two) Creating a community outside of the team is not only necessary but it develops both a sense of identity in the provider and receiver.  

Team Uniforms and structure such as team runs also manage to build a sense of community withn the team.

This is just a really quick point that I believe is essential to community development. The trip to Mandela’s jail cell is touching, yes, but is symbolizes the idea that in order to build relationships, improve an existing community, you have to  walk a mile in a man’s shoes. I think this is too often overlooked by government agencies and international aid systems as we forgot to put ourselves there and think about the consequences.

Now this had to be my favourite part of the whole movie! The police officers and the little black South African boy at the very end of the film is cute, funny, and defines community development as I see it. At first the boy is chastised for loitering around the police car to listen to the game, soon after he is allowed to sit on the sidewalk and listen quietly but by the end, when the gap between the two races is virtually non-existent and the little boy is hoisted up on their shoulders as South Africa wins the World Cup.

Despite the fact that I thought the movie was slow moving and cinematically could have been better quality, the message was inspirational. It shows that community development can a group of people, like the Springboks, or one man, like Nelson Mandela, and that play, games and sport can unite a nation.

Nelson Mandela: I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.

Bigger than Us - Sport-for-Development

“... sport has certain wider social ‘functions’ beyond the game ...”

Since I come from a relatively small community in northern Alberta, I wanted to look into our role as Canadians in the international community and how sport can support development in different countries worldwide. The article I found is actually a prelude to the Sport in Society issue on sport-for-development so it touches on each section of the journal as well as the major questions surrounding sport-for-development. The article is called “The social impact of sport: diversities, complexities and contexts” by Ramon Spaaij and he looks at what sport-for-development is, how it can be established, what are the positives and negatives of sport-for-development and summaries of the case studies that are outlined throughout the special issue.

One of the main things that he looks at is “...social development through sport is [usually] imposed on disadvantaged communities in a top-down manner, lacking community engagement and shared ownership.” I too believe that community development cannot be legislated in this sense, that there has to first be some movement from the grassroots level in order for a program or new idea to grow and then succeed. This means for leaders within the international community should work with local governments, as that is inevitable, but community development should be initiated and carried out locally and with the members of the community. Essentially, it is just embracing the idea that how can you help the masses, without knowing the individuals. I believe that that is key to community development whether it’s in Alaska or Zimbabwe.  

 

Another problem that this article addresses is that in developing countries “...the state can be as much part of the problem as the solution.” This is something I had never given much thought to but it makes a lot of sense. Think about it. If you lived in a country with a government that could be deemed corrupted, authoritarian and a powerful military regime, they, in most cases, use sport in order to create a better and stronger army, just like the Spartans did a gazillion years ago. So how do you trust a sport program coming from your government that has proven they only want you as soldiers? The answer is easy. People don’t trust their government and don’t join thus debilitating the sport-for-development process. This highlights the need for organizations like UNICEF and FIFA to get involved, as they are known to unbiased and present for the good of the people.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UozCYu9e65U

 

The last aspect of the article I would like to share with you is that it also looks into the negative effects of sport-for-development. This had crossed my mind because if it was all positive why wouldn’t every country use sport for community development, but I have never really dug any deeper into the issue. Spaaij addresses the fact that sport “often reflects or even reinforces social inequalities.” To me this made a lot of sense. If the problem in the community was that Team Blue thought they were better than Team Red, and Team Blue consistently annihilates Team Red, that would just fortify their sense of supremacy and crush all hopes of the two teams developing into a community. Organizations within sport-for-development must be cautious is making sure their programs do not highlight this dominance, but instead stress the importance of building relationships.  

 

Whether is Major League Baseball in the Dominican Republic or Indigenous participating in Australian football, sport has the opportunity to empower individuals, strength relationships, grow communities and essentially, without being too cliché, change the world.

 “Through sport and physical education, individuals can experience equality, freedom and a dignifying means for empowerment, particularly for girls and women, for people with a disability, for those living in conflict areas and for people recovering from trauma.”