"The Peace through Sport movement will reach new grounds in 2013"

Monaco, February 5, 2013 - At the dawn of its 7th year, the organization Peace and Sport reaffirms its commitment and welcomes 2013 as a promising new year, rich in initiatives and advancement to building lasting peace through sport, globally.

The year 2012 marked a milestone for Peace and Sport. The first International Forum organized outside the Principality of Monaco, has made its success on Russian soil in Sochi. This major strategic shift allows Peace and Sport to carry its message, more effectively, where it matters around the world. The year 2013 will strengthen the movement’s internationalization and allow peace through sport to reach new grounds at all levels.

In the coming months, Peace and Sport will be present in all corners of the globe. On the menu of sports diplomacy, 2013 will offer, the International Forum in Monaco, the launch of the Regional Forum in Dubai and a workshop in Costa Rica which aims to mobilize local and global stakeholders and policymakers in both peace and sport. Meanwhile, the organization will continue its work in the field across continents to develop pilot projects in partnership with local authorities and international federations.

Joel Bouzou, President and Founder of Peace and Sport, puts in perspective the coming challenges, action, values ​​and goals of his team: "With the establishment of Peace and Sport in 2007, great ideas and innovative concepts have taken shape in many countries in the field but also on an institutional level. The world has realized that with sport, it is possible to bring significant progress in bridging communities together and promoting peace. For six years, Peace and Sport has seen a consistent growth, progressively mobilizing more actors and multiplying projects. We believe that this is a renewed commitment to support this fantastic growth. By creating the opportunity to go out and meet the men and women, by creating links between them, by encouraging an open dialogue and expression of ideas and by supporting their projects, Peace and Sport fulfills its mission: to create an international movement of peace and sport ".

THE KEY DATES OF PEACE AND SPORT IN 2013

March 2, 2013: Peace and Sport will answer the call from Costa Rica by gathering the NOCs of Central America to investigate how sport can help to resolve tension between gangs and organized banditry. The workshop aims to bring together all the representatives of the Central American NOCs in a neutral environment, to define an outline for a regional cooperation program which uses sport as a tool to tackle drug related conflicts and prevent youth violence. This is a new format for Peace and Sport, which was developed to answer to local needs and demonstrate its ability to provide solutions to concrete problems. The workshop in Costa Rica must initiate the movement of peace through sport in the region that sorely needs it.

23 and 24 April 2013: Peace and Sport will host the first Peace and Sport Regional Forum in Dubai. A year after signing with the Dubai Sports Council, a strategic alliance aimed at making sport an engine for development, education, cohesion and peace throughout the Middle East, the first Peace and Sport Regional Forum will be held in Dubai from the 22nd to the 24th of April. The event will bring together more than 200 policy makers, and sports and economic decision makers of the region, as well as many civil society actors. It will provide an opportunity for an area heavily concerned by both peace and sport, to make its voice heard, to promote its ideas and mobilize local stakeholders. Through this regional forum, Peace and Sport will be able to contribute significantly to the efforts for peace in the region. This is a key milestone on the road to establishing a peace through sport movement.

From the 26th to 31rd May 2013: Peace and Sport will be present at the SportAccord Convention, the largest gathering of world sport governance. During the General Assembly of International Federations, Joel Bouzou will stress the vision of Peace and Sport and its ambition to grow the movement further.

On September 21st, 2013: Peace and Sport will celebrate the International Day of Peace together with the international community. Each year many players invested in peace through sport from around the world join their efforts and respond to the call from Peace and Sport to celebrate and promote the ideals of peace and sport. For Peace and Sport this is also an opportunity to open the doors of its headquarters in Monaco to peace through sport supporters from around the world.

In September 2013 Peace and Sport will host the fourth edition of the Friendship Games in the Great Lakes region of south Kivu in Africa. For two days, youth from Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda, participate together in sporting events to promote peace across borders and unite around the values ​​of friendship and the brotherhood of sport.

November, 2013: Peace and Sport will launch an innovative manual on adapted practices and equipment for sports programs. This initiative aims to meet the challenges of sport in disadvantaged areas, allowing governmental leaders to activate global peace through sport solutions in areas it would have never been conceived, and for international federations to support the development of their sport by encouraging adaptability and accessibility on local level. As a major social advancement, this new approach will allow many youth with fewer opportunities, a sports practice for virtually no cost.

From the 6th to 8th November: the 7th Peace and Sport International Forum will be held in Monaco. After a year of grassroots initiatives, the international community of the peace and sport world will be invited by Joel Bouzou, for three days of debates and exchanges. The event is held under the High Patronage of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco. An unavoidable event for the political and sporting agenda, whose ever growing success is not to be missed.

The Peace and Sport International Forum is a unique platform where heads of state, sport leaders, athletes, business leaders, academics, humanitarian and field actors meet from around the world. Freedom of tone and opinion, political neutrality, creativity and continuous innovation are the ingredients that have built the success of this event. Peace and Sport is pleased to see the ever-growing impact of the International Forum to the creation of a real peace through sport movement.

The year 2013 will also be marked by an ambition to reinforce the field projects supported by Peace and Sport, which count today 7 countries. The involvement of in an effort to promote Peace is another commitment Peace and Sport will take up through the Champions for Peace, this action remains a major part of the organization’s culture.

For more information contact: Nicolas Serres

nserres@therighttrack.eu / + 33 6 58 22 44 23

Vanessa Verron

vverron@therighttrack.eu / + 33 6 62 17 02 29

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