Exhibition "We play together" on the occasion of the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace

Ms. Al-Sada [Second Secretary, Permanent Mission of Qatar],
Ms. Orchard, [Secretary General, International Wheelchair Basketball Federation],
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen:

A warm welcome to the inauguration of the exhibition “We Play Together” marking the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace. The exhibition showcases the power of sport as a tool to promote peace, unity and inclusion. It is based on an online campaign that the United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace has launched. Under the motto #WePlayTogether it called upon UN agencies, Sport for Development and Peace partners, NGOs and individual to send in photos that illustrate how sport brings people together in a positive way. The exhibition gathers a selection of the best of those pictures.

I thank the organizers of this exhibition and of today’s event, notably the Office on Sport for Development and Peace. A heartfelt thank you also to Qatar, Co-Chair of the Group of Friends on Sport for Development and Peace, for supporting this event, including the reception that is waiting for us afterwards.

Sport has great benefits for our health, education and also for our social life. In addition to that, it can also help us to promote peaceful conflict resolution, gender equality and inclusion of persons with disabilities and overcome discrimination. This year, the celebration of International Women’s Day on 8 March had a special focus on gender equality and sports. The heads of five world sport federations announced their intention to join the International Gender Champions Initiative.

Sport is an important tool to advance human rights, peaceful societies, as well as social and economic development. To raise awareness of this enormous potential, 6 April was declared the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace by the UN General Assembly in 2013. To celebrate the Day and thereby promote the use of sport as a tool for development and peace, the Office on Sport for Development and Peace has been hosting a special event at UNOG every year. We all remember last year, when the Olympic Flame passed through the Palais des Nations and when the Olympic Cup was awarded to the United Nations as a recognition for its services to sport and the promotion of the Olympic ideals. We also remember the team of refugees competing at the Summer Olympics 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, an excellent initiative, supported by the IOC to raise awareness and show support to the world’s refugees. Driven by shared values and common goals, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been a strong partner to the UN. The ideals of the Olympic Movement are very much in line with those of the United Nations - peace, equality, tolerance, solidarity and fair play. Hence, it’s natural that the IOC will strengthen the focus on ‘Sport for Development and Peace’ within the context of the reorganization of the UN Office on Sport for Development and Peace.

This year’s campaign #WePlayTogether joins the UN Secretary-General’s call to make 2017 a year for peace. In addition to harnessing Goal 16 “Peace, Justice and strong institutions”, the campaign also raises awareness about sport’s contribution to Goal 10 “Reducing inequalities” and Goal 11 “Sustainable cities and communities” of the Sustainable Development Goals in promoting initiatives that include refugees and people with disabilities.

Let me just mention one very concrete example how sport has been used to achieve these goals: earlier this year in Hamburg, Germany, the Office on Sport for Development and Peace under its Youth Leadership Programme organized a two week-long camp. Participants had different political backgrounds; they came from all over Europe, from developing countries and also included six refugees. There were women and men and people with disabilities. As they played together they realized that they all were equal, despite their religious, ethical and gender differences.

This is what we celebrate today!

Now, please enjoy the photo exhibition.

Thank you very much and enjoy the afternoon.