![]() ![]() They require commitment and engagement by individuals, communities, as well as governments. And that, by the same token, development, health and peace are not “spectator sports”. The topics you will explore today remind us that the right to play belongs to everyone. ![]() Some of them have never even seen a basketball. These champions have chosen to use their position to help children who have never seen a ski slope or a basketball court. It is led by some of those who have made it to that most exclusive athletic club - the Olympians. I appointed Adolf Ogi - the former President of Switzerland and a fine sportsman in his own right - as my Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace.Īnd that is why the work of Olympic Aid is so important. ![]() I am convinced that the time is right to build on that understanding: to encourage governments, development agencies and communities to think how sport can be included more systematically in plans to help children - particularly those who live in the midst of poverty, disease or conflict. Working together with the United Nations and several of its specialized agencies - such as the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization - the IOC has demonstrated that sport can play a role in improving the lives of not only individuals, but whole communities. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has done some pioneering work in this field. We have seen how it can channel energies away from aggression or self-destruction, and into learning and self-motivation. We have seen examples of how sport can build self-esteem, leadership skills, community spirit, and bridges across ethnic or communal divides. Over the past few years, there has been a growing understanding of the role sports can play in changing peoples’ lives for the better –- and those of young people, in particular. It is also in the true spirit of the United Nations: if there is one guiding motto that our Organization must work under in the twenty-first century, it is to put people at the centre of everything we do. Olympic Aid is an initiative in the true spirit of the Olympic Movement: it is athlete-driven it is voluntary and it is clear in its goals - in this case, to increase the use of sport as a tool for development, health and peace. That is why I am so happy to be with all of you today. But I am someone who benefited in my youth - and still does benefit - from the wonderfully formative experience of sport and who believes in every child’s right to that experience - the right to play. ![]() Personally, I can neither figure-skate, nor ski moguls, nor drive a luge, so in that sense my credentials in this gathering are rather modest. But for those of us who are not in that league, the next best thing is having the privilege of meeting sports stars who are putting their talent in the service of children in need. What could be better than attending one’s first Olympics? I guess it must be attending one’s first Olympics and winning one’s first Olympic medal. ‘RIGHT TO PLAY BELONGS TO EVERYONE’, SECRETARY-GENERAL TELLS OLYMPIC AID FORUMįollowing are the opening remarks by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the Olympic Aid Forum in Salt Lake City, on 9 February: ![]()
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