GloKnoCo partners visit the University

The School of Sport and Health Sciences was delighted to host our partners this week as the final event of the four-year Global Sport for Development Knowledge Collaborative (GloKnoCo) project.

The event was led by Dr Mark Doidge and Dr Thomas Carter and funded by an Erasmus+ Network Grant to explicitly develop greater links between Sport for Development NGOs and universities. The aim of the project is to facilitate knowledge exchange between organisations on best practices and how they might work in closer partnerships to mutual benefits.

Since 2019, students from the University of Brighton have travelled to Palacky University in Olomouc, Czech Republic, and the University of Paderborn in Paderborn, Germany as part of the project. They have also benefited from educational trips to Berlin and Brussels to network and learn from development practitioners, academics, and policy makers from around Europe and the world.

This event welcomed students and staff from universities in Czech Republic and Germany, along with NGOs from Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, and South Africa. The final instalment of the GloKnoCo project has also included partners and speakers from Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Ireland, Korea, Rwanda, Canada and the United States.

Our visitors spent time at the Eastbourne, Falmer and Moulsecoomb campuses in both classroom and field activities. They participated and learnt about the University of Brighton’s renowned Football4Peace project as well as other development projects across Brighton.

Local organisations included:

• Albion in The Community
• Sussex Cricket’s Sussex Cricket Foundation
• VYD -a social impact Community Interest Company, that enacts grassroots football projects engaging marginalized communities,
• Nam Yang Martial Arts Club – a Brighton Community Association that works with the community, refugees and asylum seekers by providing martial arts sessions across Brighton and Hove.

Dr Simona Safarikova from Palacky University said: “This is just so important for our students. The opportunities to visit the UK, Brighton, and the organizations.

“They get to see different ways of doing things and opening their eyes to possibilities that they did not think of before.”

This was echoed by Lasse Priessler, a volunteer at Play Handball in South Africa, who said: “It is good for us to learn from others. How we can do things differently and better. It is good to meet others and network with them too.”