Conclusion of the Peace and Sport International Forum 2009:
“Peace through sport is within our reach”
Monaco, 27 November 2009 – At the end of 3 days of intensive debates and discussions, the 3rd edition of the Peace and Sport International Forum finished with a call for all stakeholders involved in sport and in peace to rally and a build up coordination of actions in place.
“How can we ensure that field projects for peace through sport are sustainable and have a long-lasting impact?“ – more than 50 high-profile speakers mounted on stage in succession to offer concrete solutions to this crucial question and open avenues for action.
The diversity of the speakers’ backgrounds - Heads of State, Government representatives, leading sports bodies and athletes, NGOs, journalists and academics - provoked constructive debates and the exchange of complementary ideas. In his closing speech Joel Bouzou, President and Founder of Peace and Sport, commented on the debates and resulting suggestions as follows:
“I am acutely aware of the enormous responsibility that Peace and Sport now has to answer to all the expectations expressed during the Forum. They manifest a real need to turn words into actions. We will be dedicated over the next few months to meeting these expectations, with one driving force: coordination.”
“Coordination is needed to optimize resources, to improve efficiency of actions in the field and to make them sustainable” he added, before urging: “We have to act as a network for communication and information between all Peace and Sport stakeholders using new technologies in order to become a global social community.”
Another prominent idea surfaced: “We also need to create a new culture of Smart Philanthropy, involving economic
players, with the help of sports champions as role models.”
Mr. Bouzou finished with an assurance “Today we can leave Monaco with our hearts full of the conviction that peace through sport is within our reach.”
The third Peace and Sport International Forum took place under the High Patronage of HSH Prince
Albert II of Monaco in front of an audience of over 400 decision-makers in sport, politics, the private sector and civil society representing 85 nations. For more information, please contact Peace and Sport
+33 6 83 37 66 21 –
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- www.peace-sport.org
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It was marked by many outstanding highlights:
- The signature of a Partnership Agreement between Peace and Sport, the UN Office for Sport at the Service of Development and Peace (UNOSDP) and the UN Office for Partnerships (UNOP) in order to promote sport as a vehicle for peace;
- .The launch of “Champions for Peace” – a group of 37 famous athletes with a genuine desire to get involved in concrete actions to promote sport for peace;
- Signing an Agreement with the University for Peace (UPEACE) to teach future diplomatic leaders to integrate sport into their action;
- Announcing the winners of the “Peace and Sport Awards” that rewarded six initiatives that have particularly contributed to peace through sport in 2009: two NGOs, a sports event, an International Federation, a corporation and a photograph of a highly symbolic episode.During the Forum’s Opening Ceremony, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Kozak announcedthat the Peace and Sport International Forum 2012 will be held in Sochi, the host city of the Winter Olympics andParalympics in 2014. This announcement is further evidence of the maturity of the International Peace and Sport Forum
