| Current Issues | No.37 February 2003 |

Excerpt from an Interview with H. E. Mr. Adolf Ogi, Special Adviser to the Secretary General of the United Nations on Sport for Development and Peace. Printed with Permission from UNEP - Teen Planet Magazine, No.5, page,7. President Ogi, sport is the most popular social event, yet in many parts of the world sport education is not given the attention or the priority it deserves. If we continue to say sport plays a valuable role in society, then how come we are not investing enough in sport education? How can you assist in addressing and advancing this important field? There should not be any doubt in our minds about the valuable contribution of sport to our society. Sport by itself is an institution where people learn respect for one another, discipline teamwork and a sense of pride, a sense of belonging and achievement in what they do. I am aware of the fact that a significant amount of attention is given to sport whenever there are major sporting activities. We have to remember that all the world-class athletes did not just start training yesterday and become champions today. They have gone through intense training in schools and other training arenas. Of course, our objective is not to turn every child into a world-class athlete, that is humanly impossible, but we want to offer and enable them to live a healthy and comfortable life. If we continuously want to see the good values of sport throughout society, both rich and poor, then we have to invest more in physical education and sport, which is not the case today. It is not enough for adults to admit that not enough attention is paid to sport education. We must strive to take meaningful steps and actions to make sport a significant contributor to a peaceful society. If we don't create the opportunities for our children to engage in physical activity and sport, who else is going to do it?. After all, the strength of any nation depends on the health of its youth and children. I hope that international development co-operation will also include tangible provisions for the inclusion of sport education as one of the major factors for development. This is an issue that I am very much convinced should be addressed, and I will continue to raise it when I meet the people who are responsible for youth, sports and development issues. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) http://www.unep.org Email: Wondwosen.asnake@unep.ch http://www.icsspe.org/portal/texte/area/bulletin/ Excerpt from an Interview with H. E. Mr. Adolf Ogi, Special Adviser to the Secretary General of the United Nations on Sport for Development and Peace.