International NGO Right To Play hosting Sport for Development Roundtable in Athens

At the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympic Games, Right To Play* hosted a Roundtable Forum entitled Healthier, Safer, Stronger: Using sport for development to build a brighter future for children worldwide. The Roundtable brought together the leading minds in the field of development to strengthen the position of sport and play as tools for development, health and peace.

The Roundtable generated considerable interest in the potential of sport as a tool for development and peace, becoming a catalyst for the establishment of a United Nations inter-agency task force to examine the contribution of sport to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The report by the Task Force to the United Nations Secretary-General was published in September this year.

On August 14th, 2004, during the Games in Athens, Right To Play will again host a Roundtable. In 2004, the Roundtable will draw together international leaders in the field of development, governments and athletes with the aim of harnessing the full humanitarian potential of sport for development and peace.

More specifically, the objectives of the Roundtable are:

Among the confirmed speakers for the Roundtable are Secretary General Kofi Annan, IOC Vice President Dr. Thomas Bach; Special Advisor to the Secretary General, Sport for Development and Peace, Adolf Ogi; Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Bondevik; UNHCR High Commissioner Ruud Lubbers; the Executive Director of UNICEF Carol Bellamy; EU Commissioner, Education and Culture Viviane Reding; the Mayor of Athens Dora Bakoyanni and Vice Chairman of The International Olympic Truce Foundation George Papandreou. Heads of State from Africa, the Middle East and Europe with a special link to Sport for Development have also been invited to participate.