Peace and Sport Explores New Frontiers with Regional Forum in Greece

(ATR) Peace and Sport is transitioning from holding its annual forum in Monaco to a biennial regional forum, building upon the success of the last ten years. The inaugural edition will be held on the island of Rhodes, Greece on October 18.

"Societies in Motion: Rising up through Sport" is the theme of the new regional forum, with the emphasis on identifying and exploring how sport can contribute to the progress and development of societies and civilizations.

The event will be co-organized by Peace and Sport and the region of South Aegean and governor George Hatzimarkos.

Peace and Sport president and founder Joel Bouzou tells Around the Rings that the change in format is a major and necessary step forward, shifting focus to regional and local sport initiatives, the first edition symbolically being held in the cradle of Olympism.

"Greece is a good place to look at what can be done to foster peace through sport around the Mediterranean and Balkan areas and to underline the best practices," Bouzou tells ATR. "It is clear that it is very symbolic.

"It is a co-organized forum and this will always be the case for regional forums. The local and regional organizers with their logic, problems and solutions have to be part of what we are doing.

"The level will be higher and the work around it will be more important, so this is why we prefer to have the regional forum the year after the international forum in Monaco."

Bouzou, a former modern pentathlon Olympic medalist and world champion, founded Peace and Sport in 2007. In cooperation with and under the High Patronage of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, it strives to utilize the power of sport and its values to contribute to worldwide peace.

The new regional forum aims to highlight local and regional peace-through-sport initiatives and promote long-term partnerships.

New awards will be given for the regional Peace and Sport initiative of the year, regional champion of they year, regional sport organization of the year and regional NGO of the year.

The regional forum is expected to bring together regional heads of state, Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, sports governing bodies, elite athletes and Olympians, international organizations, NGOs and academia.

Additionally, Peace and Sport will present awards to three international and four regional organizations and individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to peace, dialogue and social change in the world through sport.

Approximately 90 "Champions for Peace" athletes contribute their time, celebrity and athletic experience to serve projects which use sport to tackle social issues.

Bouzou emphasized the vast contributions by the athletes to Peace and Sport, the potential still untapped.

"I want more champions to carry our message and to be successful as godfathers or godmothers running programs because they work," Bouzou said. "Those who are successful in taking this path will give motivation to others, so the dreams of generosity they have in their involvement can become reality because they have an impact of changing lives."

Bouzou underlined future goals and objectives that Peace and Sport hopes to accomplish in its second decade of existence, noting that action is crucial.

"Sport is not only about competitions, marketing, champions, victory, defeats – social networks speaking about sport is about social cohesion and living together and this should be theorized, proven and measured.

"Sport is a social investment, so the challenge is to develop this fine knowledge about peace through sport over the next ten years."

Written by Brian Pinelli

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