More than 40 Champions for Peace representing 23 countries and 20 different sports joined together with Joël Bouzou, President and Founder of Peace and Sport, to review the numerous actions carried out over the past year and talk about their projects alongside the Peace and Sport Organization.
Gathered together for the 10th Peace and Sport International Forum taking place from 6 – 8 December in the Principality of Monaco, the Champions for Peace had the opportunity to brainstorm during working groups in order to fortify their roles of ambassadors for the peace-through-sport movement.
The main focus of discussions was the Champions’ participation in field projects led by Peace and Sport and partners, as well as many other initiatives developed by Champions for Peace themselves.
Canoeing champion Benjamin Boukpeti from Togo is the patron of Peace and Sport’s Sports Workshops in France. “The Sports Workshops give young people a chance to meet a champion. It’s a great opportunity to pass on key messages and motivate them using sport and its values.”
Marlène Harnois, French Taekwondo champion, who organized the Caravan for Peace in Senegal added “Each Champion for Peace brings his or her own experience; the Peace and Sport International Forum is a unique occasion to share ideas, helping us all to gain new horizons using sport as a tool.”
The Peace and Sport International Forum brings together leading figures from the worlds of sport and peace in order to share best practices. This year heralds the organization’s tenth anniversary, and the Forum’s theme of “Sport innovation for social transformation” emphasizes the importance of social innovation as a tool to help societies transform through sport.
Eminent speakers including Professor Muhammad Yunus, Khalida Popal and Lilian Thuram will join the Champions for Peace to offer vision and inspiration throughout the Forum, talking about their experience at the service of peace, and proposing real change for the future.
