Sport for Development, SDG 4 and the Power of Youth to Co-Create Education

A Youth Charter Perspective

Education is not simply a classroom activity; it is a lived experience shaped by culture, community, opportunity, and access. As the world marks the International Day of Education 2026 under the theme “the power of youth in co-creating education”, the Youth Charter renews its long-standing call for education systems that are inclusive, relevant, and rooted in the realities of young people’s lives—particularly those from historically deprived and disadvantaged communities.

.

At the heart of this commitment lies UN Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4): to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. For the Youth Charter, sport for development and peace is not an “add-on” to education policy—it is one of the most effective delivery vehicles for SDG 4 when aligned with community infrastructure, trusted leadership, and youth-centred learning models.

The Community Campus: Education Where Young People Are

The Youth Charter Community Campus Model reimagines education as a place-based, youth-centred ecosystem. It brings together sport, culture, arts, and digital learning within local communities, removing traditional barriers of cost, exclusion, and disengagement that too often prevent young people from accessing meaningful educational pathways.

By embedding learning within environments where young people already feel a sense of belonging—sports clubs, community centres, schools, and cultural spaces—the Community Campus turns participation into progression. It aligns informal learning with formal outcomes, enabling young people to gain accredited skills, qualifications, and life competencies alongside physical activity and creative expression.

This model directly advances SDG 4 by:

• Expanding access to education for marginalised young people

• Improving retention and engagement through experiential learning

• Supporting lifelong learning pathways linked to employment, leadership, and civic participation

Social Coach Leadership: Educators Beyond the Classroom

Central to the Community Campus is the Social Coach Leadership Programme - a recognition that those who work with young people through sport are often their most trusted educators, mentors, and role models.

Social Coaches are not just instructors of sport; they are community educators equipped to deliver values-based learning, safeguarding, wellbeing support, and personal development. Through structured training and accreditation, the programme transforms coaches into frontline agents of SDG 4 delivery, capable of bridging the gap between education policy and lived experience.

In communities where traditional systems have failed or withdrawn, Social Coaches:

• Re-engage young people excluded from mainstream education

• Provide culturally competent, trauma-informed support

• Model leadership, resilience, and social responsibility

This investment in people—not just facilities—ensures that education is relational, relevant, and rooted in trust.

Youthwise: Education Co-Created With, Not Done To, Young People

The Youthwise educational experience reflects the International Day of Education’s 2026 theme by placing young people at the centre of learning design and delivery. Youthwise integrates sport, art, culture, and digital literacy into flexible learning modules that respond to local need while aligning with national and international education frameworks.

Crucially, Youthwise is not imposed from above. Young people are active co-creators—shaping content, leading peer learning, and developing agency over their own educational journeys. This approach strengthens motivation, ownership, and relevance, particularly for those who have been historically marginalised by one-size-fits-all systems.

Through Youthwise, SDG 4 becomes tangible:

• Education that is inclusive, not selective

• Learning that is applied, not abstract

• Progression that is supported, not assumed

A Call for Free Education for All

In marking the International Day of Education, the Youth Charter reiterates its long-standing call for free education for all children and young people, with targeted investment for those from historically deprived and disadvantaged backgrounds.

Economic barriers—whether in school access, training costs, coaching qualifications, or enrichment opportunities—continue to undermine SDG 4 globally. If education is truly a public good, then access to learning through sport, culture, and community leadership must not depend on ability to pay.

Free, inclusive education delivered through Community Campuses, Social Coaches, and Youthwise programmes represents not charity, but social justice—an investment in human potential and community resilience.

From Commitment to Action

As governments, institutions, and international bodies reaffirm their commitment to SDG 4, the Youth Charter calls for a shift from aspiration to implementation. Sport for development offers a proven, scalable, and youth-led mechanism to co-create education systems that work for those most often left behind.

Education must meet young people where they are, value what they bring, and equip them for the futures they deserve. Through sport, culture, and community leadership, SDG 4 can move from policy text to lived reality—one Community Campus at a time.