Issue link: https://takingitglobal.uberflip.com/i/1518729
A former Canada Games swimmer for Team New Brunswick, David Thibodeau has emerged as a thought leader in the sports realm. With expertise in sport policy and inclusion, he focuses on harnessing sports for social impact. This dedication is reflected in his Sprout Ideas project: Sports for Social Impact — a platform aimed at exploring sports' transformative potential on environmental, social, and economic development, both locally and globally. David's project serves as a catalyst for discussions on sports' role in societal change. Using mediums like podcasts, articles, and book clubs, the initiative aims to shed light on how sports programs and policies can maximize their impact on communities. Engaging with stakeholders ranging from athletes to policymakers, David seeks to deepen our understanding of sports' potential for positive social outcomes. At the heart of the project is David's podcast: Sports for Social Impact. "Our goal was to reach more people and have a bigger impact through our conversations. By having more episodes and reaching more listeners, we can push the conversation further and inspire more people working in the sports sector." Sports for Social Impact DAVID THIBODEAU SPORTS & RECREATION Through the Sprout Ideas Fellowship, David was able to increase his output of the podcast, even earning a nomination for a Canadian podcast award. "The thing I'm particularly proud of is releasing 33 episodes in Season 3, which nearly doubles our the number of episode we had for Season 1 and 2 combined. We also nearly doubled are total listens from 2464 over 26 months to 4928 over just 12 months." Sports for Social Impact aligns with SDG 17, focusing on Partnerships for the Goals. David reflects, "One of the objectives of this goal is capacity building. The goal of the podcast is to build capacity for sport organizations to help create and implement policies that are focused on achieving specific outcomes that are outside of the normal capacity of sport, (such as) sustainability and gender equality. By having more people on the podcast we were able to highlight more voices and more opportunities for sport organizations." Looking ahead, David envisions more in- person programming to increase his impact. "During the Sprout Ideas Fellowship I piloted a book club. I want to take the Sports for Social Impact more offline and run more initiatives in the actual community." 29 SPROUT IDEAS FELLOWSHIP IMPACT REPORT