Peace and Sport, the international initiative under the High Patronage of His Serene Highness (H.S.H.) Prince Albert II of Monaco, organized a Peace Walk on Wednesday Nov. 25 on the opening day of its International Peace and Sport Forum, which was held in the principality through Nov. 27.
The symbolic walk was led by H.S.H. Prince Albert II and Joël Bouzou, president and founder of the organization, and brought together political leaders and state representatives from around the world. The procession, which attracted around 1,000 people, began at the Place du Casino at 17:30 and then headed to the forecourt of the Grimaldi Forum.
Participation in the Peace Walk was free and open to the public although registration was compulsory. The Peace Walk was followed by the Forum's official opening ceremony, from 19:00 to 20:00 at the Grimaldi Forum, in the presence of various political figures. The opening ceremony introduced the theme of this year's 8th edition of the forum, “Endangered peace: how can sport help?”
“Peace and Sport, L'Organisation pour la Paix par le Sport” - known as Peace and Sport - was founded in 2007 by Joël Bouzou, modern pentathlon Olympic medalist and world champion, who is the current president of the organization. It works for sustainable peace through the promotion of the practice of structured sport and sporting values, with special attention for the younger generations.
The organization is neutral and apolitical, and intervenes in areas that are made vulnerable by extreme poverty, recent conflict or lack of social cohesion. Its programs currently involve more than 300,000 youngsters and operate in eight countries around the world including Burundi, Colombia, Ivory Coast, Congo DRC, Haiti, Timor Leste, Israel and Palestine.
Peace and Sport uses sport as an educational tool to encourage a spirit of citizenship, while raising awareness among the private and public sector at the global level about the potential of sport to operate as a vector for peace. Among its various activities, Peace and Sport has developed the Adapted Sport Manual, an educational tool intended for field staff worldwide.
In the wake of the Peace Walk, Peace and Sport announced the signing of two new partnerships, with the International School Sport Federation (ISF), represented by its president Laurent Petrynka, and the Uefa Foundation for Children, represented by its secretary general, Pascal Torres.
The partnership with ISF revolves around the Carton Blanc initiative, which celebrates sport for development and peace on the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, each year on April 6, as well as the Adapted Sport Manual in a certain number of countries. The partnership with the Uefa Foundation for Children is aimed at using sport as a tool to promote peace in refugee camps and the surrounding areas.
The International Forum Peace and Sport attracted around 500 eminent figures from the international sport movement and other stakeholders including NGOs and the private sector, along with figures from political institutions and 82 international athletes as Champions for Peace, who come from 35 countries and 32 different sports. Champions for Peace are top-level sports champions, either active or retired, who wish to help disadvantaged communities through sport. Among them are Chris Froome, two-time winner of the Tour de France, Serguei Bubka and others.
