Starting the TT4Change Journey: From Kick-off to a Dive into Sport for Development
Following the renaming of the TT4Change programme (formerly the TT Dream Building programme), the newly selected TT4Change Generation 2026 projects are preparing to embark on their journey through a kick-off meeting and an induction programme that began this week. Building on a successful internal kick-off in December, project teams from six different countries and territories, including Chile, England, India, Kenya, Peru, and Thailand, have all officially begun a comprehensive capacity-building pathway designed to maximise the social impact of table tennis within their local communities.
A New Chapter: TT4Change Generation 2026 Kick-off
The journey of the TT4Change Generation 2026 began on 4 December 2025 with an internal kick-off meeting that brought project teams together to align on the roadmap for the years ahead. Project leaders were introduced to the overall programme timeline, including weekly capacity-building sessions throughout January and February. These sessions will lead up to the official project start in April, in celebration of World Table Tennis Day on the 23rd and the 100 Years of Table Tennis.
This session also marked the formal naming transition from the Dream Building Fund (DBF) to the TT4Change, which now aligns with other programmes of the Foundation, including TT4 Health and TT4All.
Deep Dive: Table Tennis for Development (TT4D)
On January 13, 2026, the first official capacity-building workshop was delivered by the ITTF Foundation team, focusing on the core philosophy of Sport for Development (S4D) and Table Tennis for Development (TT4D). The session aimed to help participants distinguish between the Development of Table Tennis (focusing on sport techniques and performance) and Table Tennis for Development (TT4D), where the sport is used as a tool to achieve non-sport and life-changing benefits such as improving life-skills, leadership, communication, and social connection.
Turning Games into Growth through Reflection
A key takeaway from the workshop was the “5 Principles of S4D”, emphasising multidimensional development, Life Skills Development, Roles and Responsibilities of Coaches, Appropriate Educational Goals, and Structure of S4D Trainings.
The concepts introduced were all based on Sports4Development's best practices.
Looking Ahead to the Official Launch
The kick-off meeting and the S4D workshop are only the beginning of a seven-week induction capacity-building series covering multiple topics, such as Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E), Theory of Change, Safeguarding, and Communication, equipping project teams with the tools needed for sustainable impact. All activities are accumulating momentum and leading toward the official launch of the TT4Change Generation 2026 and World Table Tennis Day in April.
Stay tuned by signing up for the ITTF Foundation newsletter and following the TT4Change projects on Instagram. We look forward to sharing and celebrating the transformative power of sustainable development through table tennis.