First Global Impact Report on Sports For Unity

Announcing the launch of a long-term project and study on the impact of sports for unity and inclusive economy in partnership with the Washington Institute for Business Government and Society. This is the Official Transcript, first presented in Washington DC on the 17th of November 2021.

Honorable Jim Moore, my dear friend,?founder, and CEO of the esteemed Washington Institute for Business, Government and Society, it is a pleasure to be finally here in person with the both of you. Together with my colleague and Brother Jim Funk, Global Senior fellow for leadership, we are here to begin an incredible project, to measure the impact of sports on a united world.?

And there is no better place to begin this in your home city, Washington DC, the capital city of your beloved nation, the United States. One of the first visible signs of hope as this pandemic dragged on, was the first sign of any competitive sports event. From a ball game to the Olympics, we held our collective breath, cheered the teams either in person or online, at times to empty stadiums. There is something magical about sports that gives humankind hope. When we see someone overcome their physical limits to reach for that finishing line, when teams achieve touchdowns against all odds, when Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy and Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar both took the gold for the men's high jump in Tokyo, we applauded that as a thumbs up to the better selves that we can all be.?

That global sports is worth a lot of money is obvious, according to Statista, The global sports equipment market is estimated to stand at a value of approximately 150 billion U.S. dollars by 2023 and the global sports apparel market at around 200 billion U.S. dollars. And if you add all other attributable economic value to it, it can be worth close to half a trillion dollars or more. While global sports is worth a lot of money what is lesser known is its impact to help disadvantaged youths find a better life, to shine a spotlight on poorer nations to help them get ahead; in short, how do sports actually create a rising tide to lift all boats through fair play.?

As a CEO serving a global consultancy with a mission of shaping a better economy by design, I would argue that if the global economic system adopts many of the inclusive rules at global sports like recognizing the equal dignity of nations, to allow everyone to have the same starting line, it would go a long way to shape a fairer economic system. Because we know that the economy though similarly competitive in nature has different starting lines. If you are a poorer economy, you are way behind the line in terms of opportunities compared to an advanced economy. The differing access to global vaccines has shown a difference in our?starting lines. Of course, global sports mirror the great disparity in incomes too. Many nations cannot afford the infrastructure needed to support global sports talent so talents migrate to seek better support and life for themselves. While it is clear that this is great for talent and the global sports movement, what will be interesting is what are the ways such flows bring about unity and inclusive growth in real terms.

This is what Consulus as the Global Knowledge partner of the Washington Institute for Business Government and Society, seeks to do. Through long-term tracking and study, we hope to learn about the impact of global sports on a united world in terms of economic and social inclusion.

The global impact of sports reports builds on the good work that began?with the global sports conference.

The report and long-term study will look into 4 aspects.

1. Politics and Diplomacy?

It will study how global sports impact politics and diplomacy to build understanding and friendships globally.?

2. Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility?

This section will study how sports impact ethics and corporate social responsibility in shaping inclusion and participation

3. Diversity and Inclusion

For this, we shall look into diversity and inclusion shaped by global Sports?

4. Gender Equality?

Here we will seek to understand the power of Sports to enable gender equality and participation

The institute and all of us at Consulus are not doing this alone, we are the servant leaders of a larger global movement of movers and shakers in this field.?

With a renowned sports council at the Washington Institute with personalities such as:

JIMMY LYNN

VP of KISWE Head of Sports Council

LUCAS KELLO, PhD

Associate Professor of International Relations at Oxford University Director of the Centre for Technology and Global Affairs

PEDRO PINTO

CEO of Empower Sports?

Former UEFA Spokesperson

SHELLIE PFOHL

Strategic Advisor for the Esports Integrity Commission?

Former CEO of the U.S Center for Safesport

HON. TOM MCMILLEN

Former Olympian and?

Member of National Fitness Foundation

CHRIS CURTIN

Former Chief Brand & Innovation Marketing Officer at Visa?

?In addition to the distinguished panel, we are working with an accomplished university consortium which comprised of:

Georgetown University?

American University?

Waseda University?

Princeton University

Oxford University

As we prepare the report, various leaders of influence are already be included and they are:?

H.E. Hassan Al Thawadi

Secretary-General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy in Qatar

?Gabriela Ramos

Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences of UNESCO

Dr. Isabella Bunn

Senior Advisor, Oxford Analytica Research Fellow at Regent’s Park College, University of Oxford

Andrew Parsons

President of the International Paralympic Committee

?Thayer Lavielle

Executive Vice-President at the Collective Wasserman

Michele Uva

Director of UEFA Football & Social Responsibility?

We hope that the report can be used as an annual methodical tool to help governments shape policies, companies to shape their sponsorship initiatives for increased impact on the inclusive economy and unity

If you are an institution or corporation that believes in shaping a united world through sports we invite you to join us. You can support this project financially or through your networks of influence. This is just the beginning and with you, we will evolve the project for greater impact.

We will launch the first edition of the report in March 2022. We cannot wait to share more with you. Thank you.?

See the entire webinar here: