250 Actors for Peace Meet in
Dubai
Under the Patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan
Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the
Dubai Sports Council, and in presence of an elite selection of local and
international sporting, social and government speakers, the first day of the
Peace and Sport Dubai Forum 2013 took place at the JW Marriott Marquis over
three individual workshops followed by a special session, setting the tone to
the promising initiatives and recommendations that are expected to be the legacy
of this pioneering continental forum; to establish sport as a crucial vehicle
to achieve sustainable peace in the fabric of societies in the region and
beyond.
Dr. Ahmad Al Sharif, Chairman of
the Forum Organising Committee, Vice Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council, as
well as Joel Bouzou, President and Founder of the
Peace and Sport Organization were joined by
over 250 decision makers hailing from the local, regional and global entities
of sport, governments and the private sector, debated and emphasised the role
that sport and sportsmanship can play in the quest for long lasting peace.
The three workshops, held during
the first half of the day, were framed under three topics:
Workshop one, entitles Leading the Way, discussed the role
leadership can play in the vision for global peace and was kicked off with a
vivid and straight shooting discussion by HE Ms. Nawal El Moutawakel, Vice
president of the International Olympic Committee, followed by speeches from Egyptian
Minister of Sport, Mr. El Omari Farouk El Omari, as well as Sheikh Fahim Bin
Sultan Al Qasimi, former Secretary General of the Arab Gulf States Cooperative
Council. The workshop was concluded with
the consensus that to instill the notion of peace through the use of sport has
to be an integral vision of the leadership structure of any society and
relevant organization, including but not limited to sporting associations such
as the IOC as well as the private sector.
The Second workshop, entitled, Understanding the Challenges, tackled
the importance of communication and harmony between all the stakeholders
involved. It was animated by insightful presentation from His Excellency the
Chief in Command of Dubai Police, President of the UAE talented Association
Dahi Khalfan, as well Reem Asaad, an expert in economics and a woman rights
activist in Saudi Arabia where she highlighted the role that grassroots sports
events are playing in improving community relations in the Kingdom, in addition
to Dr.Saif Alhajari, Member of the Qatar Foundation lauding the importance of
government backed initiatives and structures to support the quest for peace
through insuring all the ingredients are present to sustain it. All three, from
their various angles of profession portrayed the importance of a national and
social will to implement peace on all levels, including through the use of
sports as a unifying force. 
The Third and final workshop,
entitled Understanding the challenges looked into the core of the initiatives and programs that
help consolidate values of peace through sport in fragmented societies. Fueling
the discussion was Mahash Al Hameli, President of the international center for
the fight against violent extremism, Dr.Rania Elwani, founder of the Egyptian Olympians
association and a Champion for Peace, Honey Thaljieh, Former Captain of the
Palestine Women Football Team and Champion for Peace, as well as Abdulrahman
Al-Hadi, Minister Plenipotentiary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. All the
speakers exchanged their experiences and views on the various challenges faced
in drawing up sporting events to serve peace in their respective communities.
The general agreement across the four speakers was that cultural boundaries
should be respected and upheld when sport is activated for peace; the lack of
adherence to local cultural issues risk representing sports into an enemy of
social coherence and harmony.
Speaking at the end of one of the
workshops, Joel Bouzou, Founder and President of the Peace and Sport Organization
stated: “Today, we have delved deep into the concept of integrating the
region’s culture into the movement, and I’m sure we’ll leave here tomorrow with
our goals and aspirations for this forum met.”
After the conclusion of the
workshop sessions in the early afternoon, the Peace and Sport Champions and
Ambassadors held a networking session before some of them joined a number of
athletes and sporting authorities including Pakistani Football Team Captain
Kashif Siddiqi, Director of Operations of the Badminton World Federation Stuart
Borrie, and Jon Long, Head of the Executive International Programme of the
International Cricket Council, in a special session that included an open floor
for discussion and debate with valuable experiences shared among those present.
The Peace and Sport Forum 2013
continues on the 24th of April with three plenary sessions which
will lead to the conclusions of the forum and draw up a concrete roadmap which
will form the basis on which future steps are taken to ensure that sport in the
region is used to spread the message of peace among communities.
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