The Coalition Tackles: Recent Episodes
Sport for Development Coalition
The Coalition Tackles is brought to you by the Sport for Development Coalition, a growing group of 180 organisations working together to maximise the social impact of sport and physical activity.
The Coalition Tackles is a monthly review of the tactics and techniques employed by people, places and organisations using sport and physical activity to address some of the nation's most pressing social challenges.
In episode six of ‘The Coalition Tackles…’ we continue to focus on sport’s contribution to the employability and skills development, particularly in a post-Covid environment for young people facing disadvantage. Later on Sally Dickinson, Head of the Berkeley Foundation, tells us about her organisation’s partnership with the Change Foundation charity. But firstly Simon Lansley spoke to Sue Maguire, Honorary Professor at the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Bath, about her work in this field, particularly around economically inactive young women.
Continuing with how sport has been tackling the unemployment emergency during the Covid-19 pandemic, in this episode we meet some of the young people who have been supported by organisations across the Coalition's network. Including Callum who overcame issues that were affecting his mental health thanks to Premiership Rugby's Hitz programme and Zoe Littlewood, who has been supported by the skills development charity, Sport 4 Life, in Birmingham - and has progressed into employment with them.
The theme for this quarter is ‘Sport tackles the Unemployment Emergency’ and in this episode, Ollie Dudfield, the Executive Director of the Sport for Development Coalition, discusses the role of sport, physical activity and sport for development in tackling the challenges around youth employment and training brought on by Covid-19 with LJ Rawlings, Chief Executive of Youth Employment UK.
In episode 3, Simon Lansley speaks to Hannah Beecham, the founder and CEO of the 'Red Together' movement, and Alex Eagle and Claude Umuhire from the Running Charity. Hannah tells us 'Red January' helps to beat away the winter blues for thousands of people each year, while Claude speaks about his amazing journey from homelessness to helping other young people in difficult circumstances, and Alex speaks about the ambitions of the Running Charity.
In the second episode of The Coalition Tackles, Simon Lansley of the Sport for Development Coalition speaks to Callum Kwasnik, from Mind (Herts), and Hannah Marsh, from the Stevenage FC Foundation, about the ‘Get Set to Go’ programme. Simon also caught up with author and freelance writer Hannah Green about the ‘Get on Track for Wellbeing’ scheme from the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust which she participated in after experiencing homelessness and PTSD.
The theme for this quarter is ‘Sport tackles the Mental Health and Wellbeing Crisis’ and in this first episode of The Coalition Tackles, our Executive Director Ollie Dudfield speaks to Hayley Jarvis, Head of Physical Activity for Mind, about the role of sport and physical activity in tackling the mental health and wellbeing crisis brought on by Covid-19. We also hear from some projects and programmes using sport to maintain and improve wellbeing.