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Add to Preferred SourcesCelebrating the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said that “sport helps find common ground” during times of division.
“Sport has the power to align our passion, energy, and enthusiasm around a collective cause,” she maintained. “And that is precisely when hope can be nurtured and trust can be regained”.
Sport has played an important role in all societies throughout history – making it a natural focus for the UN system, to strengthen social ties and promote the ideals of peace, fraternity, solidarity, non-violence, tolerance, and justice.
Ms. Mohammed recalled stories of “soldiers climbing over the trenches on the first Christmas Eve of the First World War” to play football and bring about a momentary truce and “table tennis in the 1970s” that thawed Cold War tensions and gave birth to the term “ping-pong diplomacy”.
“It is in our collective interest to harness the tremendous power of sport to help build a better and more sustainable future for all” she stressed.
Moreover, she pointed out that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development identified sport as “an enabler of sustainable development”.
“Sport can help promote tolerance and respect, contribute to the empowerment of women and young people, and advance health, education and social inclusion”, she continued.
Ms. Mohammed also urged changing the day-to-day management of sporting events, so as to harness environmentally-friendly practices and socio-environmental-minded bidding proposals.
Original source: UN News
Published on 03 April 2019