The event was chaired by HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein, President of the Jordan Olympic Committee, who was joined by IOC members Toni Khoury (Lebanon) and Major General Munir Sabet (Egypt) as well as David Winiger, Special Assistant to Adolf Ogi, Special Advisor to the United Nations Secretary General on Sport for Development and Peace. Tomas Sithole, Director of International Cooperation and Development at the IOC, also attended the three-day seminar.
HRH Prince Feisal presented his new initiative Peace Through Sport which aims to train youth leaders from areas of conflict on how to use sport as an agent for peace within their own divided communities.
“The importance of this conference must not be underestimated and I am confident that the decisions and ideas discussed can make a difference,” said HRH Prince Feisal. “This week has underlined the need for greater dialogue which must be turned into real actions for sport to make an impact. Together we can make a difference and the time to act is now.”
The seminar was aimed at National Olympic Committees (NOC) across the Middle East and North Africa with delegates attending from Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Sudan, Tunisia, UAE and Yemen. The three-day event attracted a diverse range of speakers from four continents and has been praised by the IOC.
Khoury, who was representing IOC President Dr Jacques Rogge, said: “Recent events, particularly in my own country, have highlighted the need for all of us to play whatever role we can to bring peace to our region. I hope that this event will encourage NOCs to work closely with the IOC - both individually and collectively - to bring these initiatives to life over the coming months and years in order to make a real difference.”
Peace Through Sport is set to become the first solid regional initiative to be launched in Jordan from October 21 while delegates unveiled a number of further projects and initiatives to be implemented in the short and long term.
Delegates highlighted the need for sport and peace issues to be placed higher on their individual government’s agendas and recommended that all major sporting events should be a time for ceasefire and peace. Many NOC’s pledged to form and finance Sport and Peace committees within their own countries and create feasible media-friendly projects to bridge divided communities.
The inaugural IOC Seminar on Sport and Peace for the Middle East is set to become an annual event with Aqaba to be declared the ‘City of Peace and Sport for the Middle East’.
