UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon receives Olympic Order
Baku, June 6 (AZERTAC). The 3rd International Forum on Sport for Peace and Development opened today in New York with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) honouring United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with the Olympic Order. The award was in recognition of the UN Secretary-General`s strong personal commitment to use sport as a tool for social change, a concept brought to life through various joint IOC-UN projects at community level. It was also under Mr. Ban that the IOC received UN observer status in 2009.
Jointly organized by the IOC and the UN Office on Sport for Development and Peace (UNOSDP), with the support of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), the event aims to assess the successes and challenges of past initiatives and looks at how to pave the way for future concerted action in these fields. This year’s theme is “Creating a Common Vision”, and one of the outcomes will be a declaration by all participants that will provide a roadmap in this area for the next two years.
The UN Secretary-General and IOC President Jacques Rogge delivered keynote speeches at the Forum, held for the first time at the UN headquarters.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: “The link between sport, peace and development grows stronger by the year. It can be traced back in history to the original Olympic Truce, which guaranteed safe passage to athletes and other travellers attending the ancient Games. It is found in the bidding requirements for modern Olympic host cities, which are asked to provide a durable social and environmental legacy. And it is evident throughout the United Nations system, which has embraced sport as a valuable vehicle for reaching our peace and development objectives. The International Olympic Committee is a key partner.”
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