"Sport Has Great Power to Bring People Together"

On 28 April IOC President Thomas Bach and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon signed an agreement on using sport as tool for development and peace.

Expressing that both actors “share the same values of contributing to a better and peaceful world through sport”, the first formal agreement between the IOC and the UN follows up on previous collaborations, in the course of which the IOC obtained an UN Observer Status in 2009 and the IOC-UN Forum was established in 2010. The new agreement implies that as from now the IOC will work with the UN Secretariat on various projects across the globe.

With regards to the agreement, IOC President Thomas Bach said, “Sport can change the world, but it cannot change the world alone. When placing sport at the service of humankind, we need and we want partnerships with other players in society. The Olympic Movement is willing and ready to make its contribution to the most laudable efforts of the United Nations to maintain and build peace and to bring along social change.”

Secretary-General Ban expressed that “The first-ever Memorandum of Understanding between our organisations is a logical step after years of ever closer collaboration in using sport to promote development and peace.“ He reiterated that “Sport has great power to bring people together, improve public health and promote teamwork and mutual respect.”

In terms of promoting social integration and economic development thereby aiming to contribute to the advancement of the post-2015 agenda, the agreement draws attention to the following themes:

• Access to sport for all among communities, in particular the most disadvantaged and marginalised populations
• Quality physical education in school settings
• Youth empowerment, education and skills development
• Girls’ and women’s empowerment
• Peace-building and community dialogue
• Healthy life-styles promotion
• Environmental sustainability

Further information regarding the agreement can be obtained from http://www.olympic.org/news/ioc-and-un-secretariat-agree-historic-deal/230542