Former IOC President Jacques Rogge, President of the United Nations General Assembly Vuk Jeremić and Serbian professional tennis player and Peace and Sport Champion for Peace Novak Djokovic, following the UN’s decision to declare 6 April as the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace.
What is the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace?
The International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) is an annual celebration that highlights and promotes the power of sport as a catalyst for social change in all corners of the world.
Since 2014, following a decision by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, the IDSDP has been celebrated each year on 6 April, creating a historical link to the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.
The IOC, in its capacity of Permanent Observer to the UN, has been supportive of this initiative as it values its potential to recognise sports organisations’ role in and contribution to social change and human development.
Last year’s first celebration saw an overwhelming response from the Olympic and sports movement, with the organisation of hundreds of runs, sports tournaments, educational and peace-building activities, as well as exhibitions and discussion forums to address and highlight the power of sport as a catalyst for social change, development and peace.
Sport as a universal tool for development
The IDSDP offers a new opportunity to promote sport and physical activity as a cost-effective and meaningful tool that can address a wide range of needs related to: education, health, social inclusion, youth development, gender equality, peace building and sustainable development. It also provides a notable platform to advocate among governments for more investment in sport, related infrastructure and quality physical education for youth.
This event celebrates the work that is being carried out around the world by the IOC, National Olympic Committees, International and National Sports Federations, sports clubs, governmental and non-governmental organisations, neighbourhood associations and all other entities and volunteers who believe that sport is an effective tool for social development.
Using sport to promote development and peace has been at the core of the IOC’s mission since its creation in 1894. Pierre de Coubertin, the IOC’s founder, was explicit in his desire to use Olympism as a means to promote harmony among individuals and nations. It is therefore apt that this International Day emphasises the positive impact of sport and physical education at all levels from casual practice to competitive sport.
The annual IDSDP is also a fitting complement to the celebration of Olympic Day, which, introduced by the IOC in 1948, commemorates the founding of the modern Olympic Movement, each year on 23 June. Millions of people in countries around the world participate in a wide variety of Olympic Day activities, from sport to educational and cultural activities.
More information on what is going on in the world of sport and development can be found at:www.sportanddev.org
At the UN headquarters in New York, on 23 August 2013, the UN General Assembly declared 6 April as the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) – a decision that represented a historic step in recognizing the transformative power of sport and its great potential in advancing positive social change.
This day is commemorated globally each year by international, regional, national sport and development organizations to honour the role that sport plays in society, whether by encouraging healthier lifestyles, making sport more widely accessible or using it as a vehicle for development in areas made vulnerable by conflict, poverty and inequality.
The first IDSDP in 2014 was celebrated all over the world by a diversity of actors involved in using the benefits of sport to connect people to a wide range of development and reconciliation efforts
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