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International Day of Sport for Development and Peace Back To Main

On 6 April next, the United Nations, its Member States and the international community at large will officially celebrate again the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace. Last year’s first celebration saw an overwhelming response from the Olympic and sports movement with the organisation of hundreds of social, 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.

The IOC, in its capacity of Permanent Observer to the UN, has been supportive of this initiative as it values its potential to recognize the role and contribution of sports organisations in social change and human development. Part of our Olympic Agenda 2020 also reflects the need to reinforce the role of sport in society, and to strengthen strategic partnerships to this end.

As 6 April is fast approaching, we would like once again to invite your National Olympic Committee to consider a special celebration around this Day and encourage you to showcase how sport contributes to social change in your communities. The International Day of Sport for Development and Peace offers the opportunity to promote sport and physical activity as a universal tool and driver for social change, contributing to development, the fight against social stigma and discrimination, gender equality, healthy behaviours and peace-building. It complements our flagship event, Olympic Day celebrated on 23 June, which engages millions of people around the world to practise sport. Olympic Day will continue to celebrate our values of friendship, excellence and respect through three pillars: Move, Learn and Discover.

The IOC will celebrate the International Day by launching a digital campaign on its social platforms featuringnstories of popular Olympians and sports people who have used their fame to give back and contribute to social change through sport. We encourage your NOC to follow the campaign on http://www.olympic.org/idsdp, and to disseminate our content and videos further; and we hope that it will inspire you to launch or celebrate similar initiatives at your level. Suggestions on possible actions and key messages that could be deployed on 6 April are enclosed for your convenience.

We trust that our joint efforts over the years will contribute to strengthening the recognition of the role of sport for development and peace to the benefit of young people, communities and humankind at large.

Yours sincerely,

Lindsay GLASSCO
Director
International Cooperation and Development

Pere MIRO
Director
NOC Relations

Encl.: Information Sheet on the International Day

View File: le-IDSDP-NOC-eng-2015-03-13

Annex-IDSDP-NOCs-2015-03-13-eng