Government and Sports Leaders to Attend Peace and Sport Forum

(ATR) Decision-makers from politics and sport will gather at the 3rd Peace and Sport International Forum in Monaco next month.

Under the patronage of Prince Albert II of Monaco, the Nov. 25-27 conference brings together more than 300 leaders from politics, sport, the private sector and civil life to discuss innovations and partnerships to use sport as a vehicle for the development of peace throughout the world.

Around 15 IOC members, including IOC vice presidents Thomas Bach and Mario Pescante, are participating. Delegates also include representatives from 45 governments, 30 International Sports Federations and about 20 national Olympic committees.

High-profile speakers include Prince Albert II of Monaco and Jose Ramos-Horta, president of Timor-Leste in Southeast Asia, who won the Nobel Peace Prize 1996. Also expected to make important contributions in forum debates are Rama Yade, secretary of state for sport in France, and the sports ministers of Ivory Coast, Kenya and Haiti.

The summit at the Fairmont Monte-Carlo is held in conjunction with the United Nations. Wilfried Lemke, special adviser to the UN secretary general on sport for development and peace, will address delegates.

Joël Bouzou, president and founder of the initiative, said: "Thanks to the success of the first two editions, the Peace and Sport International Forum has enabled a networking platform to be created, underpinning the fundamental role of sport as a vehicle for sustainable peace."

Prince Albert, IOC member from Monaco, will officially open the conference in a ceremony on the evening of Nov. 25. Champions for Peace – a group of athletes (world champions and Olympic champions) ready to devote time to peace-buildingand peace-promotion projects through sport – will be launched here.

Sports stars in attendance will include French rugby player Sébastien Chabal, football player Christian Karembeu, track and field legend Wilson Kipketer, Olympic Alpine ski champion Pernilla Wiberg and Olympic pole vault champion Sergey Bubka, now an IOC member in his capacity as president of the NOC of Ukraine.

Delegates are invited to take part in various sessions and workshops on the following twos day of the summit.

On Nov. 26, one of the sessions – ‘Peace, sport, sustainable development and "smart philanthropy"’ – will explore building public-private partnerships at the service of peace through sport and how philanthropy can be linked to sport to add value to brands. The workshops focus on ‘Three challenges for sustainable peace.’

The Peace and Sport Award will later be presented at a Gala Evening at Hotel de Paris. Five individuals or initiatives will be honoured for making significant contributions to peace through sport in 2009.

Two sessions are scheduled for Nov. 27, including one titled ‘How can major sports events contribute to sustainable peace?’, before the conference conclusions and recommendations for 2010 are announced.

With reporting from Mark BissonYour best source of news about the Olympics is www.AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.