On International Day of Peace celebrated on 21 September, Peace and Sport stressed the urgent need to maximize the use of sport for development and peace. Building sustainable peace is at the core of Peace and Sport Mission and activities, as reflected during two major conferences: The World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Mexico and the Biennale of Luanda in Angola.

In the context of Peace Day, as well as the “Biennale of Luanda: Pan-African Forum for the Culture of Peace” co-organized by UNESCO on 18 September, the Vice-President of Peace and Sport highlighted the importance of investing in programs that use the values of sport to benefit young people in the education system and presented the Peace and Sport Methodology to delegates from governments, civil society, private sector, the artistic and scientific community, academic institutions and international organizations.

Didier Drogba, Vice-President of Peace and Sport, declared:

“I would like to share with you the vision that there is great potential in Africa to use sport as a tool for peace, dialogue and social cohesion. This requires involving athletes and sportspeople in peace-through-sport projects to inspire the youth in order to make sport a tool to prevent violence, delinquency and dropping out of school.”

A day later, on 19 September 2019, Peace and Sport participated in the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates and organized a workshop that dealt with “Changing the World with Social Business through Sport” in Mexico. On that occasion, more than 50 youngsters coming from 15 different nationalities reflected about the importance of investing and developing social business through sport. As part of the global efforts to promote worldwide peace, this year dozens of Nobel laureates took part in the World Summit including Lech Walesa, former president of Poland; Frederik Willem de Klerk, former president of South Africa; and Juan Manuel Santos, former president of Colombia.

Meanwhile, Peace and Sport Champions for Peace Florence Masnada, Habiba Ghribi, Fodé Ndao, and Pascal Gentil signed an Op-ed advocating that sport must address climate change to promote peace. Elsewhere, Champion for Peace and World Champion Zsolt Moradi led a kickboxing workshop with children of the “Live Together” program in Zaatari refugee camp, Jordan to create social cohesion through sport among Syrian refugees.

Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21 September. The United Nations General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples. The slogan that the United Nations has chosen for the 2019 edition of the International Day of Peace calls for “Climate action for Peace”.