Southampton Solent University Lecturer recognised for innovative work improving children’s lives
Associate Professor Dr Oscar Mwaanga, Senior Lecturer in Sports Sociology at Southampton Solent University, has been awarded a fellowship for his innovative work in sport community projects over the last 25 years.
The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufacture and Commerce (RSA), which has been at the forefront of social change for 260 years, have inducted Dr Mwaanga as a fellow for projects such as EduMove.
EduMove is an education tool directly focused on using movement games to reduce obesity and inflict social change, while providing a space for purposeful academic learning. It’s currently used in the south of England and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Dr Mwaanga said: “Nelson Mandela once said ‘sport has the power to change the world’, and this is the concept I believe in.
“EduMove changes children’s lives and local communities, and with the new recognition from the RSA, it can continue to impact the lives of children and obesity for the foreseeable future.”
Dr Mwaanga joins RSA’s global network of 27,000 like-minded fellows all committed to ideas and innovative solutions for the betterment of humanity. Past fellows have included Benjamin Franklin, Marie Curie and Charles Dickens.
An activist in sport and social issues, Dr Mwaanga is recognised as one of the indigenous leaders of the Sub-Saharan Africa Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) movement of the last decade especially after founding EduSport Foundation, which is the first Sport for Development Peace organisation in Zambia.
“The EduSport Foundation has grown from strength to strength, and today affects the lives of over 25,000 youth in Zambia,’ added Dr Mwaanga.
Dr Mwaanga has also pioneered a number of world renowned SDP initiatives including Kicking AIDS Out (implemented in 30 countries), SDP peer leadership and Go Sisters. His current projects Fair Game Football and EduMove are looking to address social justice in football and childhood obesity respectively. He currently sits on the board for the Zambian Institute of Sport (ZIS); another organization he helped set up.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT THE MEDIA OFFICE ON 023 8201 3079 or press.office@solent.ac.uk
About Southampton Solent University
Southampton Solent University offers more than 23,000 students over 200 qualifications ranging from HND to PhD, in subjects such as maritime education and training, fashion and design, media and television, music, health, sport and leisure, business, IT and technology. The University was awarded the 2013 Quality Assurance kitemark for quality and standards of teaching and learning. Solent was voted one of the most creative universities in the UK in a Which? University 2014 poll of students. Solent Business School has been awarded the Small Business Charter Award, which is supported by the Association of Business Schools and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and ‘gold approval’ by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).
More information on Dr Oscar Mwaanga
Dr Mwaanga is an Associate Professor as well as a social entrepreneur and activist internationally renowned for Sport for Development and Peace (SDP). He is course leader of the MA Sport and Development in the Faculty of Sport, Business and Enterprise at Southampton Solent University. His broad area of teaching and research expertise is the sociology of sport and development. His recent research focuses on sport empowerment for people living with HIV/AIDS in Zambia. Dr Mwaanga holds a PhD in the Sociology of Sport from Leeds Metropolitan University as well as a BA (Hons) in Sport Studies and an MSc in the Social Psychology of Sport from the Norwegian University of Sport Science.
About the RSA
For more than 260 years, the mission of the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacture and Commerce) has been to enrich society through ideas and action; unleashing the creative potential of individuals through the power of enlightened thinking.
The RSA was founded in 1754 as the Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacture and Commerce, it was granted a Royal Charter in 1847, and the right to use the term Royal in its name by King Edward VII in 1908. The Royal Charter Company was registered as charity in England and Wales in 1963 (212424) and is now also registered in Scotland (SC037784).
Today the RSA undertakes cutting-edge research, develops innovative new projects and brings the most exciting ideas to a global audience. At the heart of the RSA is the Fellowship, a community of 27,000 like-minded people from all walks of life who support our mission to create a 21stcentury enlightenment.
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