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Doha
On the occasion 30th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall (November 9), which has become a global icon for disruptive change and power of collective action, ‘Save the Dream’ (a global non-profit Movement of organisations, people and athletes) launched ‘When Sport Breaks Down Walls’ – a report on insights gained during an International Youth Forum held in Berlin.
The report is produced in cooperation with the International Olympic Truce Center (IOTC) and with the support of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) as a result of a youth forum made possible by Qatar Airways and hosted by Der Diwan under the patronage of HE Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman al Thani.
The forum saw youth leaders gathering from around the world to support the positive message of unity within society while focusing on the power of sport to inspire and empower people across nations, regardless of faith and socio-economic condition. Contributions made by Fatma Samoura, Secretary-General of FIFA, Constantinos Filis, Director-General of the IOTC, Joel Bouzou, President and Founder of Peace and Sport and other high-level representatives are included in the report.
In his foreword to the report, HE Sheikh Saoud recalled a number of historical moments in the field of sport diplomacy such as the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, a Game which saw athletes from North and South Korea marching together, for the first time, under a unified flag.
Mohammed Hanzab, Chairman of the ICSS and Founder of Save the Dream, said: “Sport breaks down walls, starting with those sometimes built in the minds of people. Exactly one year ago, Save the Dream organised, in Baghdad, Iraq, the First National Conference on Sport for Peace and Development, and a few months later, we worked in Darfur, Sudan, to help local youth leaders, all of them Internally Displaced, to promote the practice of sport within their communities and camps. This is very much part of our strategy to restore normality in the lives of young people and children.”
Massimiliano Montanari, Executive Director at Save the Dream, said: “The fall of the Berlin Wall triggered a series of events that led to a new political era, but was also sadly followed, till now, by a proliferation of other walls all around the world, walls within and between nations.
But the universal language of sport has spoken many times in all these years both during and after the Cold War period; and it still speaks and will continue to speak to break down the next wall.”
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15/11/2019
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