INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SPORT AND DEVELOPMENT SET FOR 16-18 FEBRUARY
Special Adviser to Secretary-General on Sport
For Development and Peace to Hold Press Conference on 30 January
(Reissued as received.)
GENEVA, 29 January (UN Information Service) -- A first international conference on sport and development will take place from 16 to 18 February 2003 in Magglingen, near Biel/Bienne, Switzerland.
Adolph Ogi, organizer of the event and Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace, will hold a press conference Thursday, 30 January, at 10 a.m., in Room III of the Palais des Nations to publicize the conference and give an updated list of participants.� Mr. Ogi is a former President of Switzerland.
The conference will bring together representatives from the United Nations, politics, sport, science and business.� "In the struggle against the great threats to humanity –- poverty and war -– we must exploit the positive mobilization power of sport to the full, and for this we need the commitment of all sectors of society", said Mr. Ogi.� The aim of the conference is to make all parties concerned aware of the possibilities that sport offers for development and the promotion of peace, to define a common ground and to launch strategies, initiatives and measures.
The conference will be opened on 16 February by Swiss Federal Councillor Samuel Schmid.� Among those who have already confirmed their participation are Aleksander Kwasniewski, President of Poland; Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC); United Nations Office at Geneva Director- General Sergei Ordzhonikidze; United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Carol Bellamy; United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Director Klaus Toepfer, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers; Vyacheslav Fetisov, Sports Minister of the Russian Federation; Korn Dabbaransi, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand; Joel Matias Libombo, Minister of Youth and Sports of Mozambique; many-times Norwegian gold medallist and President of the non-governmental organization Right to Play (formerly Olympic Aid) Johann Olav Koss; balloonist and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Goodwill Ambassador Bertrand Piccard; and Kipchoge ("Kip") Keino, former Olympic champion and President of the Olympic Committee of Kenya.� Altogether, 200 high-profile participants are
expected in Magglingen, representing United Nations agencies and organizations, governments, the International Olympic Committee, sports federations, non-governmental organizations and athletes.
The programme of the conference provides for plenary sessions with keynote speeches, discussion rounds and workshops.� Two documents will emerge from the conference:� the Magglingen Declaration on Sport and Development, and a list of recommendations.� Mr. Ogi will submit both documents to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in March.
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