“During these two days, we
spoke of peace, of sport, and of a concrete and realistic strategy to achieve
them.”
Joel Bouzou
Following two-days of inspiring workshops,
debates and plenary sessions, the first Peace and Sport Dubai Forum, held in
Dubai for the first time under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin
Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai
Sport Council, expressed its stakeholders’ commitment to supporting and
expanding the use of sport as a platform to spread sustainable peace.
In front of a total of 600 participants of over
50 nationalities from the world of politics, sport as well as government and
nongovernmental organisations, Dr. Ahmed Al Sharif, Secretary General of the
Dubai Sports Council and Chairman of the Forum Organising Committee declared:
“On behalf of our Patron, Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum,
Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council, I would like to
congratulate all the stakeholders that were involved and participated in the
successful running of this milestone forum. We are committed to carrying out
the noble resolutions that have come as a result of this forum, an event that
we have hosted with the utmost pride, as it holds values that are intertwined
with the values on which this nation is built.” 
On his part, Joel Bouzou, Founder and President
of the Peace and Sport Organization said: “This First Continental Forum has cemented our partnership with Dubai
and the UAE region. The fruitful exchanges we had in the past days clearly
demonstrate that the region is now calling for Sport to play a key role in
building sustainable peace. Together with local leaders, we have successfully
identified concrete areas of progress on which Sport could make a difference.
Peace and Sport now aims to accompany all these actors on the long run to fully
convert the try. I am convinced the Peace and Sport Dubai Forum 2013 is only a
milestone to a long and sustainable collaboration.”
Day 2 – Identifying the Challenges
Following the foundation work placed during the
three workshops held on the first day, in which a number of speakers and
participants discussed and debated the three key topics of Leadership Role,
Challenge Identification, and Comprehensive Stakeholder Involvement,
day two consisted of three plenary sessions where the resolutions of the first
day were discussed. During these free flowing sessions, the speakers explored
the subjects further in order to help finalise the roadmap that will guide the
next steps taken following the conclusion of the first Peace and Sport Dubai
Forum. The speakers included H.E. Jasim
Mohammed Jaafar, Iraqi Minister of Youth and Sport, H.E. Humaid Mohammed
Al-Qattami, UAE Minister of Education, H.E. Tariq Deyab, Tunisian Minister for
Sport, and H.E. El Omari Farouk El Omari Egyptian Minister of Sport, in
addition to Ms. Nawal El Moutawakel, Vice President of the IOC, Niina Toroi,
International Woman Group and Dr. Hamad Al Shaibani, President of the Mohammed
Bin Rashid Award for International Peace, as well as other distinguished guest
speakers.
Recommendations
1-
Reinforce the leadership and independence
of the sport movement in order to facilitate interactions with political
leaders and governments with the aim to contribute to sustainable peace.
2-
Encourage partnerships between the
National Olympic Committees, National Sports federations, government, civil societies
and champions to spread the message of sustainable peace through sport.
3-
Integrate universal sport values
within the scholastic curriculum to promote the social impact of sport, or the
contribution of sport to a better society
4-
Launch the Peace and Sport Fund
initiative that has been presented to the international sports organisations as
a means to further amplify the values of the peace through sport movement.
5-
Engage international sports
organizations and sports federations to dedicate 2014 as the year for peace
through sport, the year of sporting values and principles.
6-
Advocacy the power of sport to be
at the service of sustainable peace.
7-
Encourage the role of educators,
families, actors of civil society to promote peace through sport and raise the
awareness of all, for the next generations.
8-
Take Dubai as a model to the
successful and peaceful coexistence of over 200 nationalities and cultures, and
dedicate one yearly celebration entitled “Sport Unites Day”.
Legacy
The Legacy of this pioneering forum will be the implementation
of Peace and Sport UAE in Dubai, the regional hub of the international
organization. This presence will be a continuation of the collaboration with
Dubai which started over three years ago, and will extend the organization’s
reach: implementation of with programmes and concrete solutions that promote
sustainable peace in the region.
Football for Peace – UAE vs Pakistan
At the end of the special session late on the
first day of the Peace and Sport Dubai Forum, the Football for Peace
Initiative, spearheaded by Pakistani Star Footballer Kashif Siddiqi announced
their support to Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl shot by extremists whilst
defending the right for education of girls in Pakistan, through a Football for
Peace friendly match between the UAE and Pakistan on World Peace Day - 21
September 2013. The match will be dedicated to Malala and its proceeds will go
towards funding the foundation in her name.
During the announcement, Siddiqi praised the role of women in society
and particularly his mother’s during his formative years in Pakistan. As a
co-founder of the Football for Peace movement he was drawn to Malala’s story
and saw her power to be a role model for the next generation of their country
and beyond.
Malala, the youngest ever Nobel Peace Prize nominee is still unable to
travel due to her injuries. She appeared at the Peace and Sport Dubai Forum via
a recorded video message thanking the members of the organization and her
supporters for their belief in her message for the right for education for
women in Pakistan: “thank you so much, for bringing
awareness and support of education and equality for girls, through the power of
sport, on such a significant day. I look forward to visiting you in Dubai in
the very near future and hope to attend the festivities with my family.”
Announcing Badminton World Federation Peace and Sport
Cup
During the closing ceremony of the Peace and Sport
Dubai Forum 2013, Dr. Ahmed Al Sharif Secretary General of the Dubai Sports
Council, Joel Bouzou President and Founder of the Peace and Sport Organisation announced
the co-signature of a Memorandum of Understanding with Stuart Borrie, Badminton
World Federation Director of Operations, to stage the BWF Peace and Sport Cup
in Dubai during the month of September.
The BWF Peace and Sport Cup follows in the footsteps
of the Peace and Sport Table Tennis Cup held in Qatar in 2011, and continues
the process of bridge building and consolidating the message of peace through
sports in the region and the world. The tournament will be dedicated to women
teams and is open to 10 countries. Each team will comprise of 2 players and 1
coach with the coach of each team then participating
in a BWF led training workshop. A draw for the tournament will be announced by
the Dubai Sports Council in the very near future.
The full
programme of the Peace and Sport Dubai Forum 2013, videos and photos are
available on www.peaceandsport.ae
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