Joël Bouzou, President and Founder of Peace and Sport met with H.E. Mr Iván Duque, President of the Republic of Colombia. The meeting broached the collaboration between Peace and Sport and the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and joint activities in Colombia benefiting to vulnerable youth.
This program, set up in the “Casas Ludicas”, youth centers located in all the regions of the country, prevent the most vulnerable communities from engaging in violence and armed conflict. It is a continuation of ten years of peace-through-sport activities led by Peace and Sport in the country, in partnership with many Colombian actors. President Duque wanted new structures to benefit from Sport Simple Solutions, the Peace and Sport methodology being digitized by the start-up MyCoach.
For Joël Bouzou, President and Founder of Peace and Sport:
“Equality does not exist, but Peace and Sport can foster the conditions of equity for all young people, and especially the most marginalized one, thanks to Sport Simple in order to give the talented ones a chance to succeed in sport, but also in other sectors where talent can be expressed. The goal is to leave no one on the side of the road, a belief that President Duque and I share. ”
This audience also evoked the launch of the first social business through sport in Colombia. Since 2018, Peace and Sport laid the foundations of this innovative program with the Cartagena-based Foundation Amigos del Mar, through a pilot project in the community of Tierra Bomba Island. It is based on the production of water sports accessories build out from the recycling of the worn plastic of the island. The project should generate economic development that will empower the community of the island while contributing to the resolution of environmental problems related to the proliferation of plastics.
HE Mr. Duque and Mr. Bouzou also discussed the upcoming Peace and Sport International Forum, which will be held from 11 to 13 December in the Principality of Monaco. The theme of this twelfth edition will be on investment for peace, a topic of interest for President Duque, who came to Cannes to speak about the “orange economy”. The meeting ended with a symbolic #WhiteCard picture in support with the peace-through-sport movement.
Reminder: an agreement was signed in 2018 in the presence of President Duque’s predecessor H.E. Mr Juan Manuel Santos also winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2016 and H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco. This Memorandum of Understanding between the Principality of Monaco and the Republic of Colombia designates Peace and Sport as implementation partner and promotes the development of sports activities for social inclusion in Colombia.
