ioc seminar on sport and peace intercontinental hotel aqaba, jordan 12-14 th june 2007
TRANSCRIPT
IOC Seminar on Sport and Peace
Intercontinental Hotel Aqaba, Jordan
12-14th June 2007
Welcome!
Session 1 – INTRODUCTION
Session 1 – INTRODUCTION
Welcome Remarks
• HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein
President, Jordan Olympic Committee
• Mr Habib Macki
Vice President, Olympic Council of Asia
• Mr Toni Khoury
IOC Member, Lebanon
Session 2 – ROLE OF THE IOC
IN SPORT AND PEACE
Session 2 – ROLE OF THE IOC IN SPORT AND PEACE
Olympic Truce – Myth or Reality?
• Speaker:Dr Evangelos Syrigos
Director of the International Olympic
Truce Centre
Facilitator: Mr Jon Tibbs
OLYMPIC TRUCE: MYTH OR REALITY?
IOC SEMINAR ON SPORT AND PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Jordan, 12 June 2007
Olympic Truce
Background-Philosophy and History
• The Games, first held in 776BC, were created in order to
act as a Truce to bring a temporary halt to the fighting
between ancient Greece’s warring city-states. .
Executive Summary
The ancient Greek King Iphitos asked the oracle of Delphi for advice on how to end the wars that were plunging his kingdom and the broader Peloponnese area into chaos.
The oracle advised him to organise an athletic contest in ancient Olympia, to occur every four years, and to proclaim a Truce for the duration of the Games.
A. The Background
The first recorded Olympic Games were held in 776BC. We know that the ancient Truce ensured the survival of the Games by guaranteeing the safe journey of athletes, judges, artists and spectators to and from Olympia and their peaceful participation in the Games.
A. The Background
The ancient Olympic Games were designed with peace in mind, to act as a broker for differences between those at war with one another.
A. The Background
Messengers – or spondoforoi – gathered in Olympia to be briefed on their mission to spread the word throughout the city-states. By 776BC, a treaty has been signed
According to the treaty the area surrounding Olympia – was proclaimed as sacred and invincible ground and decreed the cessation of hostilities for the duration of the Olympic Games.
A. The Background
The observance of Olympic Truce for 1200 years renders it as the most important principle of customary law respecting peace in the ancient world
A. The Background
B. The revival of Olympic Truce in Modern Olympic Games
A. The Background
Messengers – or spondoforoi – gathered in Olympia to be briefed on their mission to spread the word throughout the city-states. By 776BC, a treaty has been signed
According to the treaty the area surrounding Olympia – was proclaimed as sacred and invincible ground and decreed the cessation of hostilities for the duration of the Olympic Games.
A. The Background
In 1993, the IOC launched an appeal for an Olympic Truce at the 1994 Games, which was endorsed by 184 Olympic committees and presented to the Secretary-General of the UN.
A. The Background
In 1994, the then president of the IOC, Juan Antonio Samaranch, had experienced the Truce in action while leading an IOC delegation to the war-torn city of Sarajevo during the Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer.
This high-profile visit not only focused the eyes of the world on the Balkan conflict, but also provided a break in the fighting, thus allowing humanitarian relief to be delivered to the besieged population of the city.
A. The Background
President Samaranch wrote to the heads of state in 1994 to encourage the observance of the Olympic Truce during the XVII Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway.
A. The Background
• the Sudanese NOC succeeded in obtaining a ceasefire in the war between the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army and the government
• the armed conflict in Georgia with Abkhazia was suspended
• a General Assembly vote during the Games encouraged a ceasefire arrangement to permit the supply of humanitarian aid to populations in Bosnia. It has been estimated that this allowed 10,000 children to be inoculated in just one day.
A. The Background
During the subsequent Olympic Games in Sydney and Athens a public audience of 3,7 billion people, saw perhaps the most public display of the power of the Truce yet, when athletes from North and South Korea marched together under one flag at the Opening Ceremony of the Games, reflecting their hopes of a peaceful and unified peninsula
A. The Background
C. The future of the Olympic Truce
A. The Background
The Olympic Truce has the potential to play two key roles. Firstly, its application over the past decade has demonstrated its capacity to deliver practical results on the ground –from the delivery of humanitarian relief to the facilitation of dialogue between bitter rivals.
A. The Background
The Olympic Truce has the potential to play two key roles:
Firstly, its application over the past decade has demonstrated its capacity to deliver practical results on the ground –from the delivery of humanitarian relief to the facilitation of dialogue between bitter rivals.
A. The Background
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, at a time of growing crises of confidence in political institutions, the Olympic Truce reminds us of the power of idealism, and has the capacity to inspire a new generation and its leaders to make small but constant steps towards peace. The Olympic Truce is a peace-inspiring tool for our age.
A. The Background
Coffee Break
Session 3 – CAN SPORT BUILD
PEACE?
Session 3 – CAN SPORT BUILD PEACE?
• Debate: Can sport really build peace?
• Panel: HRH Prince Feisal (President, Jordan NOC)
Mr Tomas Sithole (IOC Dir. of Int. Coop.& Dev.)
Dr Evangelos Syrigos (Dir. Int. Olympic Truce
Centre)
Mr Toni Khoury (IOC Member, Lebanon)
Major General Mounir Sabet (IOC Member, Egypt)
Facilitator: Mr Jon Tibbs
Session 4 – GLOBAL DIMENSION
OF SPORT & PEACE
Session 4 – GLOBAL DIMENSION OF SPORT & PEACE
• Speaker: Dr Richard Guilanotti
Professor at Durham University
Moderator: Mr Jon Tibbs
Magglingen - ContextKey moment in sport/peace interfaceMajor international conference (2003) –
recommendations submitted to UNLead authors of section on ‘Sport, Peace and Crisis
Situations’Relevant themes at that time:- Global instability/disorder – inequalities,
tensions, dangers- Evidence of sport’s peaceful universalism being
‘corrupted’ e.g. hooliganism, racism- Growing ties of sport federations, NGOs,
governmental organizations, led by Olympic movement e.g. IOC and UNHCR
- Our preliminary research and other evidence – sport-related work in different contexts
Magglingen We recommended• Expand sport programmes in conflict zones to
promote rehabilitation and reconciliation• Dialogue between donors and recipients of aid• Reflect on role of sports bodies and NGOs in
promoting internationalism• Relevant agencies to pilot projects, explore
sustainability, clarify long-term ownership• Expand ties between NGOs and sport federations• Require direct strategies to alleviate poverty,
famine, war, forced migrationAfterwards: greater role for sport in NGOs/IGOs e.g.
UN 2005 Year of Sport and Physical Education; Beijing Declaration, etc.
Possibilities of Sport re Peace• Global culture
• Personal/group creativity, self-expression
• Social contact
• Playful/competitive, rule-governed context
• Facilitate practical making/enforcing of rules
• Universalist messages
Project Achievements: OFFS• Established in former Yugoslavia after Civil War –
200,000 dead, 2 million refugees, football flashpoint• Different ethnic groups divided – huge tensions• 1998-2003: OFFS - 48,000 children participate, 400
local leaders and coaches• Focus on ‘fun’; ‘sport for all’; emphasis on individual
skills, team-work; less focus on tactics/endurance• Context: children affected by war; much segregation –
so thaw psycho-social freeze between communities• Coaches – local, many ex-combatants – so required
intensive training, all multi-ethnic• Games and events emphasize multi-ethnic participation;
teams and groups all mixed• Symbolize to parents/community possibilities of
peaceful, normal social contact • Importance of sustained work/contribution
Some Other InitiativesSierra Leone:- War-torn region; many brutalized child
soldiers- Resocialization processes through sport- Young males seek status/authority
through sport skill and achievement- Role of referee
North/South Korea:- Intensively militarized area, very strong
tensions- Sport contacts break ice, advance
common ‘Korean’ identity
Other InitiativesUK:Northern Ireland – Catholics v Protestants –
history of cross-community sports clubs e.g. boxing, football
England – ‘delinquent’ young people – community work promotes football, but also ‘low octane’/peaceful pastimes e.g. fishing
Women in Sport:Key grassroots measures to facilitate women’s
participationJordan – hosting of major IOC conference,
‘Women and Sport’, March 2008Can also move into dance, music, other realms of
physical culture
Sport/Peace: Concluding Comments
• Key role of intermediaries e.g. coaches, referees, youth workers
• Fit projects to local contexts and needs• Dialogue with ‘clients’ – don’t impose• Need to evaluate projects – reflective practice• Sustain projects over longer-term• Big Picture:
– New age re sport’s global meaning – universalism in global era
– Global sport is at centre of emerging ‘global civil society’
– Restore higher purpose of sport– Huge opportunity for nations, NGOs, sport
bodies, to lead the way
Lunch
Session 5 – NEED FOR INNOVATIVE
SOLUTIONS FOR PEACE
Session 5 – NEED FOR INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR PEACE
• Panel:HRH Prince Feisal (President, Jordan NOC)General Souhail Khoury (President, Lebanon NOC)Dr Atef Odibat (President, Higher Council for Youth, Jordan)Dr Tiras Odisho (Director General, Iraq NOC)Dr Richard Guilanotti (Professor at Durham University) Dr Abu Eisher Anwar (President, Sport For All Federation, Palestine)
Moderator: Mr Jon Tibbs
Free time / networking
opportunity
17:00 – 18:30 Buses Depart to Wadi Rum (dress code:
casual wear and comfortable shoes)
18:30 – 19:30 Visit museum and watch sunset
19:30 – 19:45 Transport to camp for dinner
20:00 – 21:30 Dinner hosted by HRH Prince Feisal
21:30 – 23:00 Transport from Wadi Rum to Aqaba
Evening Programme