Monaco, 13 December - A Memorandum of Understanding was signed Thursday between UNESCO and the organization Peace and Sport in the form of a five-year partnership focusing on peace education, peace-building and the promotion of peace through sport. Mohamed Djelid, Deputy Director of UNESCO's Bureau of Strategic Planning, and Joël Bouzou, President and Founder of Peace and Sport, signed the document.
This Memorandum of Understanding defines four priorities.
The first concerns the development and promotion of the Peace and Sport methodology by raising awareness among governments. This methodology is key to promoting inclusion, dialogue and respect through sport in schools.
The second initiative concerns the annual celebration of the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, celebrated annually on 6 April. The aim will be to promote the Day among United Nations Member States and other relevant stakeholders to raise awareness of the positive impact that sport can have on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. UNESCO will support the dissemination of best practices and initiatives presented in an online platform created by Peace and Sport that brings together thousands of projects related to sport for development and peace.
For its part, Peace and Sport will mobilize its networks and use the Day as a means of promoting the main recommendations of the Kazan Plan of Action launched in 2017 at the end of the sixth International Conference of Ministers and Senior Officials Responsible for Physical Education and Sport. This action plan, which UNESCO is implementing, aims to promote physical education, physical activity and sport throughout the world.
The third axis involves the development of a project on social entrepreneurship through sport for young people in Latin America. This project will aim to promote inclusion, prevent violence, empower young people and provide them with the skills they need to access the labor market, including by encouraging social entrepreneurship. Priority will be given to countries that have experienced conflict and have faced, where relevant, the challenge of reintegrating former child soldiers.
Finally, the fourth and final priority concerns the promotion of research, monitoring and evaluation. UNESCO and Peace and Sport will work together to mobilize their academic and research partners, such as UNESCO Chairs, to promote research, monitoring and evaluation in the field of sport for development and peace. Particular attention will be paid to the development of indicators.
