New York, May 6 2010 4:10PM
A new addition to the United Nations Sport for Development and Peace office has held its inaugural meeting with dozens of government representatives agreeing to cooperate on using sport to support children and youth development.
"It is a massive achievement to see this inter-governmental body now part of the UN system," said Wilfried Lemke, the Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace, after the meeting yesterday in Geneva.
The International Working Group was launched at the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics, and became part of the UN Office on Sport for Development and Peace (<"http://www.sportanddev.org/connect/organisation.cfm?org=90">UNOSDP) following the 2008 Games in Beijing.
It is designed to promote and support the adoption of policies and programmes by national governments to use sport as a medium to achieve peace and development objectives, specifically the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which world leaders agreed to try to reach by 2015.
"It is very important that governments are engaged in implementing sports policies that benefit our children and youth," Mr. Lemke added.
Representatives from 50 countries and various UN agencies, including the UN Children's Fund (<"http://www.unicef.org/">UNICEF), the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (<"http://www.unesco.org/">UNESCO) and the UN International Labour Organization (<"http://www.ilo.org/">ILO), met in Geneva to discuss child protection in sport. They also discussed the uses of sport to strengthen child and youth education, and sport to enhance transferable skills and employment opportunities.
May 6 2010 4:10PM
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