Each statement is addended (italics) by the relevant section of the final communiqué which directly relates to the information presented by ICSSPE and states the official commitment of the participating and represented ministers and senior officials.

The International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education was the initiator of the first comprehensive, world-wide audit on the state and status of physical education, and of the World Summit on Physical Education in Berlin, Nov. 3-5, 1999, which received patronage and support from UNESCO, the World Health Organisation and the IOC. We are very pleased that there is now an international consensus that this issue deserves serious consideration, in order to solve existing and future problems. We are encouraged by the very positive support given to progressing access to physical education and sport by all contributors to the discussion.

At the end of the World Summit on Physical Education, the participants adopted the "Berlin Agenda for Action for Government Ministers" which states:

Such inclusion policies need to be translated into school, out-of-school and post-school community settings through facilitation of multi-sector partnership links. ICSSPE also urges all Member States to keep a watching brief on developments and monitor the implementation of policy promises into reality.

International research results provide a challenge to address the status and resources of physical education. Most governments are working hard to balance the overwhelming number of requests for their limited resources. However, when physical education is not incorporated as an integral part of education programs, the consequences can be long/lasting and manifold. The issue can be summarised by the following slogan: "Pay for physical education now. Or pay - much more - later for the damage done."

Physical education can and does provide a large number of health, social, cognitive and economic benefits. Physical education can and does provide a return on investment in other areas of spending, most notably health.

Based on the evidence available, we ask Member States to effectively implement the Declaration of Punta del Este and the recommendations of MINEPS III. Governments and civil society, working together, can make a difference for our most precious resource - today's children and youth. This is an international problem requiring international, national and local action.

(available in English, German, Chinese, Polish, Japanese)

HARDMAN K. & MARSHALL J.: World-wide Survey of the State and Status of School Physical Education - Summary Findings. University of Manchester, Manchester 1999.

The International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education is pleased to have the opportunity to make an intervention on the protection of young athletes, from the point of view of practitioners in physical education, sport and research.

As pointed out in the annotated agenda, young athletes and children engaged in sport and physical activity are often exposed to risks and threats which are a direct consequence of either unsuitable practices of sport, or of inappropriate conditions and settings. Exploitation of children and youth in sport can be diverse and manifold, leading to damage to their personal and/or material well-being and the integrity of their personality, up to being subject to criminal behaviour such as sexual and physical harassment and abuse. Sadly, sport can be a magnet for child abusers.

Sport cannot have separate status with regard to commonly accepted standards for the ethical treatment of, and care for children and youth. Children and youth have a right to play, rest, and education, as stated in the International Convention for the Rights of Children. The world of sport must make sure that children and youth are treated with due care and respect, through the development of models of good practice. Effective and professional preparation of teachers and coaches is one of the keys to achieve this, and it is essential that all the people concerned with the sport experience of young people share the same values of respect for both sport and the dignity of the young people they serve.

Governments must make sure that the provisions pertaining to the rights of children and youth are respected in their countries, and that existing regulations against child abuse and child labour are applied as well. When such regulations are missing, Member states should adopt such legislative texts as soon as possible. It is necessary to end the exploitation of children and young athletes for doubtful purposes, whether commercial or political.

It is noteworthy that in many cases, it has been the educational community and academic researchers, who have shown the commitment and courage to raise awareness of this issue, especially sexual harassment and abuse. Where sports organisations have worked positively with these researchers to address the problem, especially when they have been supported by governments, there have been very positive results. Sports organisations should recognise their own responsibilities for developing good practice in child protection and preparing children and young people to make informed decisions in sport. To ensure healthy children and young people, we have to ensure healthy sport.

ICSSPE fully supports the work undertaken by WADA and recommends that governments and sport organisations continue to work co-operatively to solve the issue of doping. On both the international and national level, a co-operative approach should be favoured instead of a coercive one.

We hope that the efforts of WADA will result in internationally accepted standards for the fight against doping, which will then be adapted to the particular national legal systems. The unethical and destructive behaviours linked to the practice of doping, which sometimes includes the encouragement of such practices by various institutions such as some sport teams, deserve a strong reaction and effective instruments to end it.

All stakeholders must take responsibility for their deeds and will have to be judged by their actions in the future. Effective control mechanisms concerning the production and distribution by the pharmaceutical industry of products which can be misused for doping practices, as well as concerning the manufacturing and uncontrolled distribution of dubious so-called "food supplements", should be put in place and implemented by the responsible bodies at the international and national level.

As stated by the representative of FIMS, future teachers and coaches should be made fully aware of their responsibilities in the fight against doping. This must be reflected in their education and training at all levels.

ICSSPE also points out the crucial role of education, in raising the awareness of young people, regarding the ethical, health and moral dangers of doping. By positively promoting the value of fair play, and of engagement in sport for its own sake, physical education in schools can support the legislative and regulatory activities of WADA and governmental intervention, in the most positive way.

Finally, ICSSPE and its member organisations are committed to support every effort to coordinate and disseminate research undertaken on all relevant fields of study, and work cooperatively with WADA for this purpose.