A twitter marathon (tweet-a-thon) will bring together participants from across the world to virtually attend a conference on the power of sport to advance gender equality, promote social inclusion and boost empowerment.

The conference, a two-hour long tweet-a-thon, will be divided into four sessions, each with a separate theme, as part of the celebrations of the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, first marked on on 6 April 2014, to highlight the contributions of sport to uplift communities and promote a positive change.

The themes address will include: Being competitive in sports - how much is too much?; Sports and Peace - important lessons from the world's top practitioners; Do you need to be competitive to be counted as 'manly'?; and Inclusion - Does sport need to be out of bounds for the differently-abled?.

Each session will be chaired by an expert, who will send tweets to the other panelists and keep the discussion alive for 30-minutes. The panelists will tweet their responses using the day's official hashtag #IDSDP. Before the start of each session Magic Bus, the event organiser, will send a two-tweet introduction.

The initiative is part of the international NGO's work to raise awareness of sport's role for social change. The organisation works with children living in poverty in India through a sports-based curriculum seeking to help them move out of poverty and mentor them towards a better life.

To register for the virtual event, beginning from 12 noon to 2pm on 6 April, send the following tweet: I am participating in the #IDSDP tweet-a-thon on April 6th with @MagicBusIndia!

Sport for Development and Peace Day
In a similar move, several other sporting initiatives across the world will mark the day.

Over the years, sports' unparalleled popularity, reach and foundation of positive values, has been recognised by organisations and governing bodies as a low-cost and high-impact tool in humanitarian, development and peace-building efforts. Its role as a promoter of education, social integration and tolerance in different cultural and political contexts has also been acknowledged and a growing number of projects have consequently adopted sports as method of work.

The adoption of IDSDP by the UN, following an initiative of the International Olympic Committee, came as a recognition of the positive influence that sport can have on the advancement of human rights, and social and economic development.

Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General said: “Sport has become a world language, a common denominator that breaks down all the walls, all the barriers. It is a worldwide industry whose practices can have widespread impact. Most of all, it is a powerful tool for progress and for development”.

Next Monday 6 April, activities across the world will celebrate the day, which in 2015 also marks the World Day for Physical Activity.

Activities include:

Bulgaria

On 6 April, in Sofia, a sports festival will be marking IDSDP. The programme includes a student competition - Science for sport; a charity football tournament and salsa lesson.

In Burgas, the 2015 edition of the city's regional games organised for the XII consecutive year by Special Olympics Bulgaria, will celebrate the talents, motivation and sports skills of young people with intellectual disabilities through a football competition.

Finland

Finnish NGO Liike - Sports & Development will be hosting a seminar to facilitate information sharing and networking among sports and development practitioners.

France

In Bourgeons, participants will be offered a wide range of activities including football, volleyball, table tennis, judo, taekwondo, among others, to play and practice on IDSDP.

Kenya

Moving the Goalposts is organising a football tournament for development organisations from Kilifi county. Named after its ‘three halves’ – a pre-match discussion, football game, and post-match discussion – football3 incorporates key life lessons into every match.

In Kabarnet, Sports With A Goal Africa in partnership with Peace and Sport and Baringo County will host the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace in Baringo County- Kenya on 4 April. Seven different schools from the 6 sub counties will participate in Peace through Sport games such as football, volleyball, basketball and short distance races between 100m to 400 meters.

Macedonia

In Skopje, a football match will be revue and organised between the students of the Faculty of Physical Education and Sports and orphan children from the October 11 organisation. The match is part of a series of initiatives to highlight the impact of sport in lives of children.

Malawi

The football NGO Chigoli will hold its first Under 12 Cup in April. Matches will take place between 10-12 and 18 April.

Pakistan

Sports Development Foundation and RightTto Play Pakistan are organising a sports seminar to discuss: sport and education; sport, youth and social cohesion; and empowering women through sport.

For more events visit April6