Centre for Sport & Human Rights developing new online series to be produced by BBC Storyworks

Author - Centre for Sport and Human Rights

Playing or watching sport is an important part of people’s lives across the globe and has the power to unite disparate communities through a shared love of competition. However, sport does not exist in a vacuum, and the experience of sport can be damaged when it reflects societal challenges. Yet through its near-universal reach and fostering of deep emotional connection, sport has a distinct ability to unite, inspire and lead positive change. How can this potential power be harnessed for good? 

The Centre for Sport and Human Rights is delighted to announce a new series produced by BBC Studios’ multi-award-winning content studios, BBC StoryWorks Commercial Productions, which will feature a series of branded documentary-style short films and immersive content exploring critical issues on the sport and human rights agenda. 

This new series will spotlight varied and replicable initiatives contributing towards a vision of inclusive, equitable and responsible sport. Each story will demonstrate how sport – from elite to grassroots level – can advance human rights through mutual respect and understanding, catalysing social inclusion, and promoting healthier societies.

Stories in the new series will feature individuals and organisations from across the global sport ecosystem – from event owners and organisers to sponsors, broadcasters to athletes’ groups – and will consider the following areas of impact:

• Athletes: where are gaps in athlete pay, funding and visibility being addressed?
• Everyday Sport: how is the organisation of day-to-date sport being changed to create inclusive cultures and increase participation? 
• Sporting Events: what changes are being made to organising sporting events to ensure equality in access, pay, funding and visibility?
• The Sport & Human Rights Movement: who are the leaders promoting human rights in sport and beyond?

The new series, launching officially in 2024, will be hosted on a dedicated microsite on BBC.com. A multi-platform digital campaign will engage relevant audiences from among BBC.com’s 155 million monthly browsers, amplified by the Centre and its network.

The Centre’s network of organisations will have opportunities to propose stories for inclusion in a branded piece for the series. If you have a story please share it by (Friday 20th October 2023) following this link: https://www.bbcstudios.com/sport-stories

Selected partners will be invited to discuss engaging BBC StoryWorks’ creative teams to produce films for the series, with a fee determined by production variables. Partnering organisations will work closely with a dedicated BBC StoryWorks team to craft this content and amplify the series on their own channels with support from BBC StoryWorks and the Centre for Sport and Human Rights.

For more information, please contact Liam Wilby, Series Developer at BBC StoryWorks: [email protected]