Peace and Sport Forum Seeks Sustainable Positive Change

(ATR) The ninth edition of the Peace and Sport International Forum returns to the principality of Monaco with the primary theme "Game on for Peace: Changing the World through Sport".

Bringing together more than 500 participants, including sports personalities, politicians and academics along with leaders from the private sector and civil society, the three-day Forum will explore five key themes: sport diplomacy, sport legacy, gender equity in sport, social integration of refugees and peace through sport in the digital age. This year’s event will be held at Monaco’s renowned Fairmont Monte Carlo, Nov. 23-25.

The aim and objective of the gathering is to create dialogue and change utilizing the power of sport to build sustainable peace and train agents for change, committed to act for a better, more just and united world.

"2016 has been a hard year for humanity – conflicts, terrorist attacks and population displacement have marked, moved, and shocked us," said Joel Bouzou, president and founder of Peace and Sport.

"In this disordered world, the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio were catalysts where sporting gestures and fraternity carried a message of values for a better world.

"Peace and Sport’s role is to take the best of these values and help build a peaceful world. The Forum is a time of reflection as well as action," Bouzou said.

Prominent speakers at the 2016 International Forum include former president of Hungary and IOC member Pal Schmitt, Egyptian pentathlete and IOC Athletes Commission member Aya Medany, International Table Tennis Federation president Thomas Weikert, UNESCO deputy director Nada Al-Nashif, Paralympic ski legend and One Revolution founder Chris Waddell, Pakistani weightlifter Maria Toorpakai and Eurosport vice-president David Bernard-Bret.

More than 10 Heads of State and 20 government ministers will be among the 2016 attendees. Twenty-five elite-level athletes referred to as ‘Champions for Peace’ will be in Monaco for the 2016 Forum.

This year’s event once again opens with a Peace Walk departing from Le Terrasses de l’Opera and proceeding through the streets of Monte Carlo at 5:30 p.m Wednesday evening. The symbolic stroll will be followed by the opening ceremony and an opening night dinner at The Meridien.

Joining the presence of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, prominent sport stars and Olympians including Paula Radcliffe, Helena Sukova, Pernilla Wiberg, Surya Bonaly, Philippe Gilbert, Wilson Kipketer and Yelena Isinbayeva are expected to participate in the inspiring walk for peace. Schmitt, Nobel Peace winners and other dignitaries from the world of sport and politics will also take to Monaco’s twisting streets.

"This walk is a strongly symbolic time which has an effect on us all," Bouzou says. "I have an amazing memory of last year, when many famous champions such as Sergei Bubka and Chris Froome accompanied Prince Albert. Many other sports celebrities also joined the crowd to give a strong and united message."

One of the highlights of this year’s Forum will once again be the Peace and Sport Awards on Thursday evening. The annual awards dinner recognizes and rewards organizations and individuals who have made outstanding contributions to peace and social reform in the world through sport.

In 2015, a Ukrainian initiative called Run For Peace won Event of the Year. Run for Peace featured 12 runners partnering on a nonstop 49-day run, encompassing 9,000 kilometers and passing through 13 European countries, informing about the country’s ongoing conflict with Russia.

The humanitarian initiative Peace and Sport, which is an independent organization utilizing the power of sport in society for positive sustainable change was founded by Bouzou, a Modern Pentathlon Olympic medalist, in 2007.

Written by Brian Pinelliin Monaco

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