Every year on April 6, the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) offers an opportunity to acknowledge the beneficial effects that physical exercise and sport have on society at large.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is focused on ensuring that as many people as possible have access to sport, and the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace highlights these goals. It is a day when some of the best athletes in the world collaborate with local governments to provide sporting opportunities to improve the lives of everyone, especially children.

Sport has the potential to transform the world; it is a fundamental human right and an effective means of fostering social cohesion, advancing peace and sustainable development, as well as fostering equality and respect for all.

"Scoring for People and the Earth" is the global topic for the 2023 International Day of Sport for Development and Peace. Similar to previous years, this overall subject enables IDSDP activities to largely centre on the contribution and influence of sport to peace and sustainable development.

Sport has enormous potential to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to promote peace and human rights, including by empowering women and girls, young people, people with disabilities, and other disadvantaged groups. The United Nations has long understood the value and universality of sport, utilising it to bring people together through its sponsorship of sport for development programmes, participation in global and local sporting events, and creation of its own sports-related campaigns and initiatives.

Sport is uniquely positioned to support the United Nations' goals for development and peace due to its broad appeal, unrivalled popularity, and core values.

The UN General Assembly proclaimed 6 April as International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) in order to spread awareness of this potential. The UN is increasingly acknowledging the beneficial effects that sport may have on the progress of human rights as well as social and economic development, as seen by the establishment of this Day.