ConnectSport has been appointed as official media partner for the forthcoming Leeds Summit on Community Sport for Development and Diplomacy.
The two-day summit on 16-17 September, which is believed to be the first to focus on development and diplomacy, has been co-created by Participate World, the University of Leeds, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds City Council and Sport Leeds.
More than 70 participants, practitioners and policy-makers, athletes and academics will convene at the University of Leeds to debate the power and potential of community sport as a developmental and diplomatic tool for both local and global impact, with the aim of launching the city as a global hub.
The summit will conclude with the co-creation of the ‘Leeds Declaration’ – a collective vision and set of principles for community sport’s role in building inclusive, resilient communities and its potential to contribute to international development and diplomacy.
IMPETUS
Participate World was founded by Tom Williams, the former COO of parkrun, and Chris Lomax MBE, a UK diplomat for over 20 years, with the aim of helping to build a world where community sport unites people for health, for belonging and for global good. The duo’s experience ranges from building a world-leading community-based physical activity movement ‘from the ground up’ to an acute understanding of international development and diplomacy, which – when combined – promises to bring fresh new impetus to the community sport sector in the UK and overseas, along with an avowed intention to remain ‘practitioner centric’.
Tom commented: “At the summit, we will celebrate stories of lived experience from practitioners and participants. We will explore the relationship between community sport, development and diplomacy, including from UK and Global South perspectives.”
Debbie Cook, Director of Community for the EFL (English Football League), will set the scene for the summit in her opening address, and there will be further key contributions from former elite athletes and community sport advocates Alistair Brownlee and Chrissie Wellington.
CHALLENGING
Over the two days, attendees will hear from leading practitioners including Brighton Table Tennis Club, Fight For Peace, Goodgym, Cricket Unites, Alliance of Sport in Criminal Justice, and Charlton Athletic Community Trust. Also in attendance will be representatives from UK Government departments including DHSC (Department of Health and Social Care) and DCMS (Department of Digital, Media, Culture and Sport).
Attendee Mel Bound, the founder and CEO of This Woman Runs, noted: “This is challenging but hugely meaningful work with so much potential to genuinely change the world we all live in.”
Registration for the Summit is now closed. For more information, visit participateworld.org or email contact@participateworld.org
ConnectSport is also supporting the 2025 SDN Online Convention on Thursday 18 September (1300-1600 BST), which is also being supported by The Commonwealth Secretariat. Read more and register.
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