Costa Rica is currently facing a high rate of violence, vandalism and drug trafficking, which threatens social cohesion and healthy coexistence. Faced with this situation, and in cooperation with the Costa Rican Institute of Sport and Recreation (ICODER) and the Police Leagues, community strategies are being designed that use sport as a tool for the prevention of violence.

As part of these efforts, GIZ introduced and piloted the method “Deporte con Principios” as a community intervention approach. The method goes beyond the practice of sport and promotes conscious, reflective engagement, focusing on the development of values and life skills such as respect, responsibility, cooperation and self-control.

In Costa Rica, workshops for police officers, teachers and trainers focused on violence prevention and the promotion of peaceful coexistence. GIZ designed and implemented the training process to incorporate new approaches, with active participation from the security forces, enriching the experience from an inter-institutional and community-based perspective.

To build on existing expertise, training materials originally developed in Colombia were adapted for the Costa Rican context, placing particular emphasis on violence prevention and local relevance.

We invite you to take a look at the following teaching and learning materials created by the German Development Cooperation (GIZ) on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and our partner organisations in Costa Rica. 

“Deporte con Principios”, Costa Rica
GIZ 2024