Peace and Sport Newsletter

Building Sustainable Peace through Sport. Together

CONTENTS

Editorial by Joel Bouzou
Top story:
Peace Conference and Run at the Cape Town Marathon
It’s all happening on the ground!
- In the African Great Lakes region
- In Nice, France
Words from a Champion:
- Alexandr Vinokourov joins the Champions for Peace group
We like:
- Promising beginnings in Mali
- Solid progress in Colombia with ‘Atletismo por la Paz’
- ‘Peace and Sport Image of the Year’ to be unveiled at Sportel Monaco
Peace and Sport:
- Upcoming dates in the diary
- Presenting our new video

EDITORIAL BY JOEL BOUZOU

Dear friends,
It has been a hard-working summer here at Peace and Sport with a number of exciting events in the world of sport. Events that have enabled engagement and exchange between the biggest players in sport and the peace through sport movement, the positive impact of which can be felt most among young communities worldwide who are seeking values to aspire to, challenges to take on and role models to look up to.

The summer’s three major international sporting events saw matters of peace feature heavily in, and sometimes even dominate, coverage of the competitions. The 2014 FIFA World Cup, hosted by fast-growing Brazil, sparked worldwide debate over the role of sporting events in catalysing peace and social advancement. Yes, these exchanges and discussions were at times controversial, but this did not detract from their utility in showing political and sports leaders the importance of making peace a central component of the legacy of international sporting events.

In Nanjing last month, the Youth Olympic Games once again inspired new generations to follow the Olympic ideal. What a fantastic energy for these young people to get together and unite around sport, when all too often it seems that everything divides them, that everything counterposes them. I also welcome the initiative of the Nanjing Youth Olympic Games Organizing Committee who, in partnership with UNESCO, held a World Youth Forum alongside the Games on sport, culture and peace, which Peace and Sport had the pleasure of participating in.

And finally, at the Incheon Asian Games, held not far from the border between the two Koreas, peace through sport resonated at both the political and diplomatic level. Despite the opposition between North and South Korea, the two countries chose to send athletes and coaches to take part in the Games. Just a few days ago, I was invited to speak in front of Korean leaders gathered in Seoul for the annual International Sports Relations Foundation Forum. I shared with them Peace and Sport's initiative to bring together, in Qatar, young North and South Korean table tennis players for a tournament in 2011 in which they played in mixed teams, thereby helping to restore dialogue between the two countries. I hailed the efforts shown by leaders of the two Koreas to continue following this example; to pave the way to diplomacy and policy through sport, despite on-going difficulties.

To top off what has been a momentous summer for our movement, on 21 September the world united in celebrating the International Day of Peace, with ‘The Right of Peoples to Peace’ as this year’s theme chosen by the United Nations to mark the occasion. On behalf of our movement, I welcome this initiative of the UN and call on everyone to keep up the momentum as we head towards the second International Day of Sport for Development and Peace taking place on 6 April next year.

Finally, as some of you are already aware, owing to a number of events taking place at the end of the year in Monaco including the IOC Extraordinary Session on 8 and 9 December, Peace and Sport will not hold its Annual Forum or Awards in 2014. We will use this year of transition to develop a new event format that is better able to meet the growing success of the seven previous editions of our International Forum. I am glad to know that attention will be given to matters of peace through sport by the IOC Members gathered in Monaco, in particular by our Patron, His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco, whom I wish to thank once again for his support to our organization, for his love of sport and for his commitment to peace.

Yours sportingly,

Joël Bouzou,
President and Founder of Peace and Sport

- TOP STORY -
Peace Conference and Run at the Cape Town Marathon

On 21 September, Peace and Sport was on South African soil to take part in one of the biggest events bringing together peace and sport in the country – and the first since the death of Nelson Mandela – the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon!
Representing our organization at the event, held symbolically on the International Day of Peace, was no less than three-time 800m World champion, Peace and Sport Champion for Peace and recently-elected Peace and Sport Executive Board Member, Wilson Kipketer.

Wilson was delighted to take part in the Mother City’s biggest running event and joined legendary South African runner and fellow Champion for Peace Elana Meyer, and various other personalities, to promote the peace through sport cause. Among them were H.E. Gert Oosthuizen, Deputy Minister of Sport and Recreation in South Africa, Wilfried Lemke, Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace, and François Pienaar, former captain of the South African rugby team, which in 1995 famously won the World Cup.
The celebrations kicked off on Friday 19 September with a Peace Conference, during which Wilson shared his experience as a sporting champion and spoke of the major role that athletes play in peace-promotion efforts.
Afterwards, to honour the International Day of Peace, a Peace Run was held, which Wilson himself ran alongside 5,500 other runners. An unforgettable moment for sharing and solidarity through sport!

Over the weekend, more than 12,500 runners representing 52 nationalities took part in the races and thousands more checked out the Marathon Expo and activities on offer.

WILSON KIPKETER

“I was honoured to attend the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon and represent Peace and Sport. The atmosphere was brilliant and I was proud to run for the peace through sport cause here in South Africa alongside one of the country’s running legends, Elana Meyer. It was a great experience!”

ELANA MEYER

“21 September was an unforgettable day! Not only was it the International Peace Day; it was also the kick-off of the revamped Sanlam Cape Town Marathon. The partnership between the various stakeholders delivered on the day with great organization, inclusion of charities and a very successful Peace and Sport Symposium. Everybody was thrilled to meet Wilson Kipketer and he inspired runners with his participation and vision about how sport can continue to bring together communities.”

It’s all happening on the ground! / IN THE AFRICAN GREAT LAKES REGION

Report from the African Great Lakes
Friendship Games 2014

From 15 to 17 August 2014, the town of Gihanga in Burundi played host to the fifth edition of the African Great Lakes Friendship Games – an event promoting peace and cross-border friendship through sport which brought together 320 youngsters from Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.

The success of the Games is all thanks to the hard work of more than 130 local stakeholders who took ownership of the event and lent their time and tireless efforts to organizing it.

The three days of competitions, sports demonstrations and cultural and symbolic activities were used to promote a message of peace and unite the young people who’d come from different youth centres in the three countries.
As with previous editions, various political and sporting authorities attended the Games and we are proud to say that after five consecutive editions, the Friendship Games have made their mark as the biggest peace-building and peace-promotion through sport event in the African Great Lakes region.

> For more information, check the photos or download the report, click here.

Adapted Sport in the African Great Lakes region

In 2011 and 2013, Peace and Sport was on the ground in Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo to give training on Adapted Sport practices to sports instructors at youth centres in the region. This year, a further training workshop was held to build on the knowledge gained by the Burundian and Congolese instructors and to introduce Rwandan youth leaders to these special activities using sport as a tool for peace.

With a focus on the transfer of knowledge and pooling of experience, the training was delivered in two modules, offering the instructors both theoretical and practical exercises. It was carried out at their local centres enabling it to be tailored to the specific challenges encountered in each one.
The first part of the training focused on how sports equipment can be adapted to encourage wider access to sport and the second part looked at adapted sporting activities to enable the use of sport as a response to social challenges (gender inequality, lack of trust among participants etc.)
The 25 instructors who took part in the training work in six youth centres across the region and will use this acquired or strengthened knowledge to enrich and educate more than 4,000 young people through sport.

OMER HAYIMANA
sports instructor at the
Gitega youth centre

“The training given by Peace and Sport on the Adapted Sport Manual was really useful for the sports teachers. We looked at how everyday items and recycled waste could be turned into sports equipment. It also showed me how to use sport more effectively to help the young people that I supervise at the centre. Most importantly, this training has helped me to better manage the youngsters and encourage their creativity.”

> For more information on the Adapted Sports Manual, partners, training, and implementation, click here.

It’s all happening on the ground! / In Nice, France

Implementing adapted sporting activities in France

Since the beginning of 2014, Peace and Sport has been working with ‘Espace Famille’ community centre in Nice, south-east France, to develop the very first Adapted Sport program in France.

The project, which has involved various young people of different socio-economic and religious backgrounds, has been really well received thanks to its innovative approach, which sees Peace and Sport give Adapted Sport training at the centre to young adolescents, who then put in place similar activities for more than 50 children aged 6 to 10 years.

The initial results obtained have highlighted sport’s capacity to adapt to different environments, reduce costs through the use of adapted equipment, and promote the respect of rules and moral codes. By making sport more widely accessible, it can be used to tackle a number of social challenges. New training sessions are due to be held in coming weeks as Peace and Sport prepares to support CEAS, the national institution which runs ‘Espace Famille’, with the organization of an event showcasing the program’s activities. The event will coincide with international Children’s Rights Day, on 20 November 2014.

- Words from a champion -

Alexandr Vinokourov joins
the Champions for Peace group

Peace and Sport is delighted to announce a new member of its Champions for Peace group – Kazakh former professional road bicycle racer Alexandr Vinokourov. Now General Manager of his team Astana, Alexandr wants to use his career in sports to give back to society, and has therefore chosen to support the actions led by Peace and Sport.

We asked Alexandr how he feels about being appointed as a Champion for Peace:
“As an Olympic Champion, it’s an honour for me to join the Champions for Peace. My career as a professional cyclist has enabled me to embrace the values of the countries that I have called home since 1997 – Monaco and France. As Manager of the cycling team Astana and Peace and Sport Champion for Peace, my goal is to demonstrate the core values of respect, solidarity, sportsmanship and peace within my team but also in the countries that we encounter on the road.”

> To view the list of all our Champions for Peace, click here

- We like -

Promising beginnings in Mali

As part of a national program in Mali using sport as a peace-promotion and peace-building tool, Peace and Sport, with the help of its partners, sent a shipment containing over five tons of sports equipment to the country in June.

We are happy to announce that the shipment arrived safely in Bamako on 4 September and that the equipment has been received by the National Olympic and Sports Committee of Mali (CNOSM). In the coming weeks it will be distributed to local organizations involved in the program.

Peace and Sport is hugely grateful to all its partners without whom this first stage of the program would not have been possible: the Regional Olympic and Sports Committee of Isère, France; Bergerac Déménagement; the town of Castelnaudary; Nice and Monaco rugby clubs; the Monaco Pétanque Federation and the World Karate Federation.

Solid progress in Colombia with ‘Atletismo por la Paz’

Congratulations to the four NGOs (Colombianitos, San Antonio, Fundamor and Goles por la Paz) that have been working jointly to develop the ‘Athletics for Peace’ program in Colombia at more 10 youth centres across the country. Notably, the NGO San Antonio held an event on 2 July to bring together the youth centre leaders, and more than 100 youngsters taking part in the program in Colombia, for socio-sports activities.

We welcome the efforts of all these dedicated local actors to promote peace and solidarity through sporting activities! Next program meet-up: an event to be held in Bugarama next month by the organization Goles por la Paz which will gather all program stakeholders.

‘Peace and Sport Image of the Year’ to be unveiled at Sportel Monaco

Peace and Sport Image of the Year is an award presented every year for a photo that has successfully captured a moment of sports diplomacy or peace through sport. The images shortlisted this year have been put to a very special voting panel – our very own Champions for Peace – and the winning image will be unveiled at the Sportel Monaco Golden Podium Awards evening on 8 October. Stay tuned!

- AGENDA-

Doha GOALS – 3 to 5 November – Doha, Qatar
Don’t miss the third edition of the Doha GOALS Forum, the premier platform for world leaders to create initiatives for global progress through sport.
To view the program and confirmed speakers, please visit www.dohagoals.com.
To request an invitation to the event, please click here.

Two dates to run for peace!
TCS New York City Marathon – 2 November – New York, United States
Nice-Cannes Marathon – 9 November – Nice, France
In addition to the recent Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, Peace and Sport has partnered with two other major running events in 2014: TCS New York City Marathon and French Riviera Marathon Nice-Cannes.
Join team Peace and Sport and run for peace through sport, while raising money for a great cause! The funds raised will be donated in their entirety to a Peace and Sport program in the Great Lakes region of Africa.

‘City Events’ – 13 to 14 November – Paris, France
The fifth edition of City Events will come to Paris next month, bringing together cities, international federations and event organizers to discuss and shape the future of international sports events. The theme of the 2014 edition of City Events is "Winning strategies for hosting sporting events”.

- Presenting our new video -

We’re happy to present our brand new video, which shows in 1min30 who we are and what we do! A big thank you to all of you for supporting our actions!

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