Donna Stelling
International Advisor in Sport. Specialist in Sports Diplomacy. Advocate for Sport and the Global Goals, UN and Sport, Sport and Culture, Human Rights, and Indigenous Sport.
Location Melbourne | Dubai | Shanghai
Activity
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The Pacific region has done a great job in connecting with athletes and sport to promote the SDGs. The UNICEF Pacific partnership with Tongan Olympian Pita Taufatofua is another good example (SDG 4). Pita also supports climate action and spoke at the UN Youth Climate Summit with US Olympian and snowboarder Chloe Kim. I have also been contributing to another...
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Donna Stelling made a comment
FIFA are taking steps to create opportunities for women’s football. But this is not always the case. Last year, I was helping the head of women’s football in Somalia. My friend also founded a separate S4D organization called the Golden Girls (see links below). You may recall an article in the Guardian titled: "No idea where money goes. Fifa urged to help...
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Donna Stelling made a comment
There are serious sustainability and legacy challenges to hosting mega events. They can have a positive and devastating impact on cities and communities. Even with the best legacy plans, the costs can outweigh the benefits. The city could pay a bigger price in the long run (see article below on Tokyo 2021). The best approach is a winning strategy for the long...
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I really enjoyed this video and here are a few additional points to consider.
If we look at how "sport can foster a common vision for the international goals", how does the sector define common vision and international? S4D is not one cohesive sector with a common approach. For example, sports organizations are not development experts, and development...
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Discrimination against women and girls in sport is widespread in many countries around the world. Too many are denied access to sport but attitudes are slowly changing. For example, UN Women in Afghanistan partnered with Afghanistan Cricket to promote Gender Equality. Sport for development programmes which build both physical and literacy skills can also be...
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Donna Stelling made a comment
I think it’s important to look at the bigger picture and not focus solely on whether sport makes a contribution; but how sport can make a more effective contribution. For example, "ending all forms of discrimination against all women and girls" is not the sole responsibility of sport for development. There are many cases where FIFA turns a blind eye to...
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Donna Stelling made a comment
As an Advisor, I work in an external capacity to help traditional sports organizations build capacity and knowledge. Many organizations such as National Sports Federations and Olympic Committees still lack in-house resources and skills in how to use sport for development outcomes. This can involve Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17) from aligning sport and...
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Donna Stelling made a comment
The video highlights how sport for development programmes can make a big impact in the Pacific region. It also shows how different sports can contribute to a broad range of Global Goals from SDG 3 (Good Health), SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 5 (Gender Equality) to SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
To evaluate goals and impacts, it’s important to...
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Donna Stelling made a comment
It’s clear that sport and development can have a positive impact across many areas including social, economic, and environmental. However different S4D programmes will have varying levels of impact, and if poorly managed could lead to a neutral or negative impact. After reading the "Road to Evidence" report, it’s interesting that there is no financial...
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Donna Stelling made a comment
The various tools and frameworks are valuable for different projects. One of the unexpected benefits of this course is accessing the documents in one place. With many stakeholders involved from the UN to the Commonwealth, often these documents are not centralized and easy to find. I also think it’s important to remember that these are frameworks, not answers....
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Donna Stelling made a comment
Sport Singapore provides a good example of a national strategy aligning with the SDGs. The policy goes beyond winning medals. It reflects the importance of diversity, access, and inclusion for all Singaporeans to “live better through sports.” It reflects national priorities and changing demographic shifts such as an ageing population. Singapore also plans to...
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Donna Stelling made a comment
Good policy planning involves both vision (strategy) and action (implementation). An implementation strategy is simply the next step of putting the strategy into action. Strategy is the formulation of goals and objectives etc, whereas an implementation strategy is the formulation of the plans and actions required for the successful execution of the strategy.
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Donna Stelling made a comment
All of the policy documents are informative and impressive. Considerable time and effort has been made by policy makers in all countries. I was particularly impressed with the progressive policy of Mauritius. The Prime Minister’s call to action is a powerful introduction. The policy was ideally developed in broad consultation with stakeholders and also takes...
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Donna Stelling made a comment
Australia is committed to the SDGs but evaluating the country’s performance against the goals reveals mixed progress. Despite excellent progress in several areas such as SDG 3 (Good Health & Well-being) and SDG 8 (Economic Growth), Australia has performed the worst in SDG 13 (Climate Action). Whilst Australia broadly recognizes the importance of sustainable...
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Donna Stelling made a comment
Child marriage is a fundamental violation of human rights. It is a complex and prevalent issue impacting millions of girls every year. At the heart of the problem is gender inequality but we shouldn’t assume it is a third world problem. Over 100 countries still allow child marriage. It takes place in the United States where half of the states have no laws to...
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Donna Stelling made a comment
"Leave no one behind" is central to achieving the SDGs. Key themes such as rights, diversity, and sustainability are core components to consider in the planning and delivery of S4D. In some cases, donor funding may be dependent on meeting such areas. The S4D community can show our commitment to "leave no one behind" through both our policies and programmes....
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Donna Stelling made a comment
Many sports organizations apply a ‘working backwards’ approach to S4D. Some foundations represent one specific sport such as football - i.e. UEFA Foundation, Arsenal Foundation. Football is the starting point but it provides the vision and the platform for change. However this does not necessarily mean that football is the most impactful sport or the most cost...
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Donna Stelling made a comment
It’s interesting to see how acronyms have changed over the years. In the early years, UNOSDP (UN Office on Sport for Development & Peace) provided global leadership and "SDP" was fit for purpose. More recently, there is a push to align Sport and the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). There is a focus on Sport and Sustainable Development or Sport for...
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Donna Stelling made a comment
The definition of sport by the UN serves as a good working definition for the sport & development community which includes “all forms of physical activity..., play, recreation, organised/casual/competitive sport, indigenous sports or games.” The taskforce defined sport in a broader sense as it relates to how the UN could use sport for contribution to...
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Donna Stelling made a comment
Mandela’s legacy inspires us to take action and make a difference. Mandela believed in the power of sport to change the world, but he also believed in the power of education and human rights to transform the world. In honour of Mandela Day this week, South African rugby star Siya Kolisi will serve as a UN Global Advocate for the "Spotlight Initiative", the...
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Donna Stelling made a comment
Hi, my name is Donna Furlong Stelling and I've worked in the sports industry for 25 years. I specialize in Sports Diplomacy which often incorporates S4D and exploring how sport can contribute to communities, cities, and countries. I've lived in 8 countries and worked in more than 50 countries. Within the global sports community, S4D is a relatively small...
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In the future, I hope that more nations will make human rights a central part of their foreign policy goals to help ensure that the world is a safer place for all. Too many nations place a higher priority on foreign trade and investment at the expense of human rights which leads to inaction on important rights issues.
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Donna Stelling made a comment
Hi, I’m Donna and I work in the sports industry and one of my areas of interest is the sport and human rights movement. For UDHR70, I worked on the Human Rights Cup, bringing together football teams to promote human rights in Africa. I also work with sports and athletes to promote human rights from women’s rights, child rights to disability rights. I also...
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Donna Stelling made a comment
In a globalized world, there are more citizens living, working, and studying in different countries. The definitions of 'othering' can also have far reaching implications on the lives of millions of people who are living and working in different countries. This could include groups such as refugees and asylum seekers. The feeling of 'otherness' is a challenge...
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Donna Stelling made a comment
In this task, I have selected a group which is based on my nationality: Australian. This is an example of belonging to a group where I'm considered to be both ‘in and outside’ the group, depending on my situation and location. As an Australian who has lived overseas for twenty years, many Australians view me as an outsider. Therefore, I no longer belong to...
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Donna Stelling made a comment
1.] Intercultural communication or cross-cultural communications refers to communication between people from different cultures and social groups.
2.] In a globalized world, sharing cultural stories and experiences can also play an important role to help bring different peoples, groups, and nations together.
3.] Learning about intercultural communication...
