New York, USA – 29 March 2017
Peace and Sport, the politically neutral, international organisation founded in 2007, today outlined its ongoing campaign for the development of peace through sport at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York, marking the launch of the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP), on April 6.
The event, which was hosted by Peace and Sport in collaboration with the Permanent Representative of Monaco to the United Nations, urged sports organisations, governments, NGOs and businesses to mobilize and support IDSDP.
Peace and Sport founder Joël Bouzou shared his organisation’s plans to continue providing inspiration, guidance and expertise to those seeking to use sport to build sustainable peace around the world. In the past three years, Peace and Sport has helped to set up more than 1000 projects worldwide, across 170 countries in five different continents, bringing social unity to over 350,000 people through the April6.org platform.
The event comes just days after Peace and Sport launched its annual #WhiteCard campaign, an initiative anchored around IDSDP which encourages people to take images of themselves holding up “white cards” before posting them to social media.
Also participating and speaking at the event were the heads of the International Fencing Federation (FIE) the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) and the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF). Top Olympic athletes from each federation, including Jade Jones, Daryl Homer and Tahl Leibowitz, as well as Maria Toorpakai, Peace and Sport Champion for Peace, put on demonstrations for both media and United Nations staff before posing for a collective #WhiteCard picture with all attendees. During the day, the ITTF and the WTF organized a number of sporting activities together with the UN staff and with the participation of 30 children.
Peace and Sport founder Joël Bouzou said:
“The International Day of Sport for Development and Peace is an important milestone, not only within sport but more broadly around the world. It is the day around which we anchor our #WhiteCard campaign and it serves as a reminder to all involved in sport about the positive impact we can have on the world, and our responsibility to create a better future for all.
“Globally, more than 35,000 people are mobilised behind our vision, and much of that is down to the hard work done by athletes spreading the word. I want to thank everyone for their immense support, and I look forward to continuing our work to inspire and unite communities. Sport is a vehicle for social change, and on April 6 together we will make a difference once more.”
