Peace and Unity Through Sports: South Sudan’s First 'National Unity Day' and Its Inaugural Olympic Participation, A Book in Project History Series, Published

The JICA Ogata Sadako Research Institute for Peace and Development (JICA Ogata Research Institute) has been publishing the Project History Series, which chronicles the trajectories and results of the projects of JICA. “Peace and Unity Through Sports: South Sudan’s First ‘National Unity Day’ and Its Inaugural Olympic Participation,” which was published in August 2021, is the third work translated into English among Japanese language installments published in the series thus far with the objective of reaching a wider international audience.

This book describes the continuing efforts for peace and unity in South Sudan through sports. The author explains the reasons underlying the recurrence of conflicts in the nation and support by the government of South Sudan and JICA in holding a national sports event called “National Unity Day” for peacebuilding. The book is the first in the series to view peacebuilding assistance from the perspective of sports.