The Intergovernmental Committee for Physical Education and Sport (CIGEPS) was established in 1978 to promote the role and value of sport and its relevance for public policy. CIGEPS is comprised of expert representatives in the field of physical education and sport from 18 UNESCO Member States, each elected for a four-year term. The consultative members, comprising UN agencies, key sport federations, NGOs, provide technical support and advice to the Committee.
What is the potential of CIGEPS?
Through CIGEPS, UNESCO has a unique ability to drive government action in the field of sport and physical education and to ensure the implementation of evidence-based physical education and sport policies and programmes around the world. Due to its intergovernmental nature, CIGEPS has the potential to bring Member States together and to engage governments in coordinated international efforts to optimize tangible socio-economic benefits of physical education and sport programmes and their potential to deliver a high return on investment.
CIGEPS:
- is an action-oriented platform for dialogue and cooperation between governments, the sports movement and other stakeholders.
- It identifies major trends, sets the international policy agenda, facilitates information exchange and knowledge transfer, and identifies good practices to develop policy implementation guidelines and tools.
- It reinforces accountability of governments and fosters scaling-up of successful initiatives through the monitoring and evaluation of policy implementation.
Since the 2019 extraordinary session, CIGEPS’ role as platform for policy coherence was boosted. The close cooperation established between UNESCO and key United Nations partners such as the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), World Health Organization (WHO) and International Labour Organization (ILO), among others, is critical in ensuring that this Committee contributes effectively to a strengthened global framework on Sport for Development and Peace within the overarching framework of Agenda 2030.
CIGEPS Statutes were revised in 2019 to reflect this new dynamic of policy coherence in a multi-stakeholder setting.
Background
UNESCO is committed to Physical Education and Sport (PES) since the early 1950s when physical education and sport were recognized as an important means to foster health and the transmission of values.
The first Conference of Ministers and Senior Officials Responsible for Physical Education and Sport (MINEPS I), held in Paris in 1976, represents the starting point of UNESCO’s institutional architecture for physical education and sport. As a result, in 1978, two important international cooperation mechanisms were established: the International Charter on PES and the Intergovernmental Committee for PES, CIGEPS.
In the early 1990s, Member States pushed for new orientations in PES policy. As a result, an external evaluation of UNESCO’s activities in PES was undertaken in 1993-94. MINEPS III in Uruguay, 1999, and MINEPS IV in Greece, 2004 were organised to reposition the primary goal of UNESCO in strengthening the educational and social dimensions of PES.
A new period began in the history of CIGEPS in 1997 when UNESCO’s General Conference adopted the Committee’s new Statutes. These established the creation of a Permanent Consultative Council, a body composed of several NGOs and other sport-related institutions, which was to ensure greater participation of civil society, and the sport movement in particular, in the works and decisions of CIGEPS.
CIGEPS played a critical role in the preparation and follow-up of both MINEPS V (Germany, 2013) and MINEPS VI (Russian Federation, 2017). The Declaration of Berlin made specific recommendations with respect to sport for all, the organization of major sports events and sports governance. The Kazan Action Plan (KAP) marked a shift from declarations of intent to policy actions. To keep the pace with the constantly evolving world of sport and be able to deal with the new challenges and opportunities presented, CIGEPS has adapted its membership and working methods. For this reason its Statutes were revised again in 2011 and 2019.
Consultative Members
Permanent Consultative Members
- Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC)
- Commonwealth
- Council of Europe
- Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF)
- International Centre of Martial Arts for Youth Development and Engagement under the auspices of UNESCO
- International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE)
- International Labour Organization (ILO)
- International Olympic Committee (IOC)
- International Paralympic Committee (IPC)
- Peace and Sport Organization
- The Association for International Sport for All (TAFISA)
- UNESCO Chair “Development of Youth through Sports Activities”
- UNESCO Chair “Doping Studies and Analysis of Anti-doping Policies”
- UNESCO Chair “Educational Linkage through International Sport (ELIS)”
- UNESCO Chair “Inclusive Adapted Physical Education and Yoga”
- UNESCO Chair “Inclusive Physical Education, Sport, Recreation and Fitness”
- UNESCO Chair “Physical Activity and Health in Educational Settings”
- UNESCO Chair “Sport, Physical Activity and Education for Development”
- United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
- United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA)
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
- United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
- United Nations Global Compact Office
- United Nations High Commissioner for refugees (UNHCR)
- United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG)
- United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNOHCHR)
- UNWomen
- World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- World Martial Arts Masterships Committee (WMC)
- World Martial Arts Union (WoMAU)
Designated Consultative Members
- Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)
- Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA)
- Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire (FISU)
- Institut de Relations Internationales et Stratégiques (IRIS)
- International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF)
- International Biathlon Union (IBU)
- International Fair Play Committee
- International Pierre de Coubertin Committee
- International Working Group on Women and Sport
- PL4Y International
- Play the Game / Danish Institute of Sport Studies
- Right to Play
- Swiss Academy for Development
- Women Sport International
- World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI)
- World Players Association
Bureau
The Bureau of CIGEPS is elected every two years. The bureau for the 2020-2021 biennium was elected at the CIGEPS ordinary session which was held virtually on 28-29 September 2020.
Chairperson
- Ms Rosa Rakotozafy (Madagascar – Group Va)
Vice-Chairs
- Finland (Group I)
- Bulgaria (Group II)
- Cuba (Group III)
- Japan (Group IV)
- Tunisia (Group Vb)
Sessions
- Ordinary Session, UNESCO Paris, France, 28-29 March 2022
- Ordinary Session, Online from Paris, France, 28-29 September 2020
- Informal meeting, Online from Paris, France, 15 July 2020
- Extraordinary Session and Joint Meeting with the Permanent Consultative Council (PCC), Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, 28-29 March 2019
- First meeting of the Working Group on the Revision of the Statutes of CIGEPS, UNESCO Paris, France, 18 June 2018
- Ordinary Session and Joint Meeting with the Permanent Consultative Council (PCC), UNESCO Paris, France, 26-27 April 2018
- Extraordinary Session, UNESCO Paris, France, 30-31 March 2017
- See also: list of all Sessions
Reports
- Final Report, Ordinary Session, virtual, 28 –29 September 2020, also available in French and Spanish
- Informal Consultation Meeting with CIGEPS Member States: report of the meeting, 15 July 2020
- Final Report, Extraordinary Session and Joint Meeting with the Permanent Consultative Council (PCC), Geneva, Switzerland 28 –29 March 2019, also available in French and Spanish
- Final Report, Meeting of the CIGEPS Working Group on the revision of the Statutes of CIGEPS, UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France, 18 June 2018, also available in French
- Final Report, Ordinary Session and Joint Meeting with the Permanent Consultative Council, UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France, 26-27 April 2018, also available in French and Spanish
- See also: All CIGEPS Reports
Contact
Philipp Müller-Wirth
Chief of the Sport Section
Social and Human Sciences Sector
Tel.: + 33 (0)1 45 68 38 52
p.muller-wirth(at)unesco.org