Rome April 7, 2015 – Sport and Peace were honoured yesterday April 6, around the world on the occasion of the 2nd International Day of Sport for Development and Peace launched by the United Nations General Assembly in 2013.

Many European NOCs marked this special day with activities, articles and videos published on their official website, including:
– Olympic Lessons organized by the Moldova NOC and Ministry of Education in cooperation with Olympic champions and medallists
– meetings with champions, students and the NOC of Montenegro, whose delegation honoured the oldest living Olympian Mirko Vujacic, javelin thrower at the 1948 Olympics
– a conference at the headquarters of the Portuguese NOC, in collaboration with the Director of the newspaper “A Bola”, circulated in all Portuguese-speaking countries.
– Olympians Day, an opportunity for the Polish NOC to remind the country of its sports history and to reaffirm the principles and values of the Olympic Movement in bringing peoples together,
– celebrations held at the headquarters of the Romanian NOC with the participation of President Alin Petrache and several EC members, Olympic athletes and medallists who answered questions from the audience of pupils and students gathered at the NOC’s amphitheatre,
– various activities which were implemented by the Ukrainian NOC all over the country – competitions, conferences, meetings with top athletes, etc.

The IOC, as a permanent UN observer, has always supported initiatives that strengthen the role of sports organizations for social inclusion and development.
This year President Thomas Bach has partnered with several charismatic Olympians to highlight the power of sport as a vehicle for social change, development and peace throughout the world.

The Peace and Sport organization, based in Monte Carlo, with the support of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, has on its online platform www.april6.org a list of the events dedicated to this theme across the 5 continent.

Finally, the French speaking online magazine FrancsJeux published an interview with Kenyan Tegla Loroupe, who won the New York Marathon in 1994 and 1995, and is a member of the Champions for Peace organization set up by Peace and Sport. A testimony collected while his country, Kenya, has been struck by the worst terrorist attacks in its history.
The full interview is available on www.francsjeux.com