(ATR) Prince Feisal Al-Hussein, IOC member from Jordan, today launched the first European camp of Generations For Peace in the Russian Winter Olympic city of Sochi.
It's the first to be held outside the Middle East since the organization's formation in 2007.
Generations For Peace Sochi brings together 57 youth leaders from 11 European and Central Asian countries that have been involved in various forms of conflict. The camp runs until Oct. 11.
The delegates are undertaking an intensive 10 day peace through sport training program involving academic conflict transformation techniques and practical sports coaching.
At the opening Friday, Feisal said it was an honor to be holding the camp in the 2014 Winter Olympic host city.
"This is the first time ever an organisation like Generations For Peace has collaborated so closely with an OCOG," he said.
"Our common goals unite us; our rich diversity makes us ever stronger."
Youth leaders from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Ukraine are among the delegates. They were chosen following consultation with the UN and its agencies, local and international NGOs and national Olympic committees.
Seven of these nations have sent delegates to a Generations For Peace camp for the first time.
Feisal, the founder and chairman of the organization, claims Sochi is a good venue for the camp, as 2014 leaders are taking positive steps towards creating a sustainable legacy for the younger generation.
Dmitry Chernyshenko, president and CEO of the Sochi 2014 organizing committee, points to the volunteer program for the Games and the Russian International Olympic University, which is helping to communicate the values of Olympism to Russia's youth.
"This is an excellent opportunity to create a sustainable, tangible legacy for Sochi 2014 today," Chernyshenko said.
"Working with Generations for Peace, we hope to help spread the values of Olympism not just in Russia, but throughout the world.
"Excellence, respect and friendship are universally important, but they are not universally celebrated. By sharing our expertise in long- and short-term community sport projects, and by learning from Generations for Peace’s wealth of experience in peace through sport initiatives, we hope to change that."
The organisation’s debut camp on European soil follows its official recognition by the IOC in 2009, the involvement of its first ever European delegates at June’s Amman Camp 2010 and the recent confirmation that the Generations for Peace Institute has awarded its first scholarships this autumn.
The Sochi course is the seventh camp. When it closes, the organization will have trained more than 500 delegates from 46 countries and territories in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Withreporting from Mark Bisson
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