Looking back on the 8th edition of the Peace and Sport International Forum, I now understand why I was convinced that our gathering was the best possible response we could provide to recent attacks around the globe. Although, as with every year, our discussions and...
The world is changing fast, yet conscious of the cost of violence the trap is to invest more in warfare than in structured peace-building actions. Have we not learnt from a long history of human suffering? Where are the real investments, the commitments for change,...
Today kicks off the 6th edition of the Friendship Games, an annual sports, cultural and awareness-raising event aimed at promoting fraternity among youth from bordering countries of the Great Lakes Region of Africa. This year’s edition is being staged in Bugarama,...
If you were connected to social networks today, you couldn’t have missed the two vibrating topics #iLoveYOG and #youth4SDGs. With less than 100 days to go to the YOG the IOC has launched its Winter Youth Olympic Games social media campaign with the aim to engage young...
Only one month after 193 world leaders gathered in New York to commit to the SDG’s 17 Global Goals guiding the agenda of the United Nations for the next 15 years the 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, adopted the “Building a peaceful and better world...
The term “Sports diplomacy”, describes the use of sport as a means to influence diplomatic, social, and political relations[1]. Sports in this context may transcend cultural differences and bring people together or at least it is a possibility the European Commission...
Today, the Nobel Peace Prize winner was announced, the laureate went out to the National Dialogue Quarteta for their contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the 2011 Jasmine Revolution. Every year, the Nobel Peace Prize marks...
Last weekend saw IOC President Thomas Bach claim that sport is a “natural partner" when it comes to realizing the ambitious agenda that will guide global development over the next 15 years also known as the Sustainable Development Goals. Let me illustrate my...
Today, 193 world leaders will gather in New York for the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit to commit to the 17 Global Goals guiding the agenda of the United Nations for the next 15 years. These 17 goals, also called Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),...
This Peace Day, 21 September marks the 14th annual day of global ceasefire and non-violence, which was unanimously adopted by the member states of the United Nations in 2001. The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, has said, “Sport is a world language, a common...
Beyond the recent tragic news, what I struggle with most is the fact that we have known the reality of a growing refugee crisis for years and that Europe could have been better prepared for it. The biggest tragedy I have found, however, is the attitude of...
Regardless of where I am in the world, the question I inevitably get asked when advocating for girls to have access to sport and personal development is, ‘But what about the boys?’ Although this should clearly be an AND, not an OR, conversation, my response is a...