Sports Diplomacy - Governments' secret asset

Pascal Boniface and the panellists in this session will comment on how governments actively use sport for their diplomacy in order to showcase positive developments in their country to
the international community. This discussion will focus on three areas:

• Sport as a tool for enhancing the national reputation through hosting major international
  competitions.
• Sport as a vehicle for mitigating political tensions and initiating diplomatic rapprochement.
• Sport as a measure of recognition on the international stage and of national cohesion.

INTRODUCTION		MODERATOR
Mr. Joël BOUZOU President and Founder – Peace and Sport		Mr. Pascal BONIFACE Director – IRIS (Institut de Relations Internationales et Stratégiques)

PANELLISTS
Mr. Alain Leroy Former Under Secretary-General – United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO)	Int. Gen. Lassana Yikire PALENFO IOC Member, Cote d'Ivoire
H.E. Ms. Snezana Samardzic-Markovic Minister of Youth and Sport – Republic of Serbia	M. Mourad Zeghidi Journalist – Canal Plus, France

QUESTIONS / ANSWERS

Plenary Session 2: Champions on and off the field of play

One of the questions rarely asked of sportsmen and sportswomen is “Are you able to commit yourself to something else other than your career?” We are sometimes taken aback to learn that they have their own perceptions and ideas of how sport can be put to best use in the promotion of peace around the world. However we must acknowledge that Champions bring a unique perspective to the table and this should be optimized.
From my experience, most athletes are willing to support our cause by recording messages, visiting field projects and wearing our organization’s logo, but some of them want something more than this, they hope to become more involved in activities on the ground. So this session will discuss how peace through sport can facilitate this undertaking and also consider the impact, limitations and criteria for success of such an involvement.

INTRODUCTION		MODERATOR
Mr. Marc MAURY Former Decathlete and Presenter of Major International Sporting Events		Mr. Serguey Bubka Olympic Champion and World Champion, Pole Vaulting – Ukraine, IOC Member and Champion for Peace

PANELLISTS
Mr. John AMAECHI Former NBA Player, Founder – ABC Foundation, UK	Mr. Benjamin BOUKPETI Olympic Medalist, Canoe-Kayak – Togo, Champion for Peace
Ms. Angela RUGGIERO Four-time Olympic Medalist, Ice Hockey – Team USA, IOC Member	Mr. Kaveh MEHRABI Badminton, Islamic Republic of Iran, Champion for Peace
Mr. Venuste NIYONGABO Olympic 5000 meter Champion – Burundi, Champion for Peace

Plenary Sesion 3: Sport for hope in challenging urban environments

This session will take the audience through a journey which highlights vividly the grassroots effects of bringing sport to some of the most disadvantaged urban areas. The session will cover first hand experiences in implementing programs and the strategic effects of sport in harmonizing people of different ethnic or religious backgrounds. As with most of the speakers, I have experienced first-hand some of the brutal realities and gang dynamics in urban slums along with witnessing the power of sport to positively impact behaviour, facilitate social cohesion and build trust, thereby leading to increased peacefulness. The session will shed light on the vital role sport can play to help address urban migration, an ever-growing challenge of the 21st century.

MODERATOR
Mr. Steve KILLELEA Founder and Executive Chairman – Institute for Economics and Peace

INTERVENANTS
Mr. Michael FLYNN Chief Executive Officer – Little Sports Organization, Kenya	Mr. Grant JARVIE Deputy Principal and Professor – University of Stirling, UK
Ms. Ana MORENO Spokesperson and Head, Press and Media Relations Unit – UNHABITAT	Mr. Pascual GUERRERO ARANA Executive Director – The World Games Cali 2013

QUESTIONS / ANSWERS

Plenary session 4: Winning over the Media

The power of sport to make a difference in areas of conflict and humanitarian disaster is increasingly well recognized and utilized within sports themselves, not least among governing bodies and International Federations. But is the message getting across to the wider world – and what role can the media play?
At a time of massive political shifts in parts of the world, this session will explore ways of harnessing social and mainstream media as well as recognising how journalists prioritize their ability to take part, observe and report on sport and peace issues. The goal is to find ways to unlock the huge potential for greater coverage of the work done by organisations which do use sport as a tool to bring greater good into the world.

INTRODUCTION		MODERATOR
Mr. Robert HOLLOWAY Director, AFP Fondation		Mr. David EADES Journalist – BBC World and Director – Allday Media Ltd.

PANELLISTS
Mr. Olivier LAOUCHEZ Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer – Trace media group	Mr. Ed HULA Editor and Founder – Around the Rings
Mr. Christian ALLIKI Sports Journalist – Genies Group International and Founder – Media and Sport for Peace in Africa, Benin	Mr. Nick RAISTRICK Freelance Journalist and Media Development Director, East Africa Cup

QUESTIONS / ANSWERS

Plenary Session 5: Empowering youth to become leaders of tomorrow

The session will provide youth with the opportunity to have their say on how they envisage sport can be used to empower them to become leaders of the future. Furthermore, a panel will be on hand to combine what has been expressed by the youth and best practices in this area to forge a lasting peace for the future.
My experience stems from projects carried out in Northern Ireland and Burundi, where youth from opposing sides of the conflicts were brought together on the same team to create a new generation that better understood one another’s culture. Also, the Institute for International Sport has just created a Center for Social Entrepreneurship with the objective of empowering youth to create pathways for peace projects in their communities, using sport and arts as their medium to achieve progress. This session will provide opportunities to discuss the criteria for success of such initiatives.

MODERATOR		INTRODUCTION
Mr. Dan DOYLE Chief Executive Officer – World Youth Peace Summit		Mrs. Nathalie SORO Youth Ambassadeur UNESCO

PANELLISTS
Mr. Nana Yaw OSEI-DARKWA Founder and Executive Chairman – Youth Icons Ghana	Mr. Simon C. DARNELL Lecturer in Sport – Durham University, School of Applied Social Sciences, UK
Mrs. Jaber NADRA The Jerusalem Suburbs Community Center, Israël	Ms Rania ATEYA & Ms Dania Abu SHALBAK The Jerusalem Suburbs Community Center, Israël

COMMENTS IN THE AUDIENCE
H.E. Moncef BELKHAYAT Minister of Youth and Sports, Marocco	Mrs Sylvia POLL AHRENS Ambassador, Deputy Permanent Representative Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Switzerland, Costa Rica

QUESTIONS / ANSWERS

Conclusion

Mr. Joël BOUZOU President and Founder Peace and Sport