23 April 2008 - GENEVA
UN Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace meets with President of the IOC
The Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace, Mr. Wilfried Lemke, met yesterday with the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Dr. Jacques Rogge, at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne. They agreed to continue collaboration in the lead-up to the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games 2008 and beyond.
Appointed on 18 March 2008 as the successor to Adolf Ogi, former President of Switzerland, Wilfried Lemke intends to build on the work of his predecessor in strengthening the relationship between the UN and the world of sport.
Both the Special Adviser and the President of the IOC pledged their commitment to ensure the Games are celebrated by Beijing, China and the world in an Olympic spirit of friendship and respect. Dr. Rogge pointed out that “by choosing to award the Games to China in July 2001, one fifth of humanity would be hosting the world’s biggest sporting event.” The Games, he said, are an opportunity to remember and encourage the changes that China has made in a compressed time period, including initiatives and laws directly related to Games hosting, such as new media laws, and environmental, education and sports programmes.
Expressing concern about the challenging international backdrop which the Olympic Games have been drawn into in recent weeks, Mr. Lemke said “I hope that the Beijing 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games will leave a lasting legacy in China and beyond,” adding that “the spirit of the Olympic Games requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship and solidarity.”
Following the visit of the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, to the IOC on 22 January 2008, where he expressed his full cooperation and support to President Rogge, the visit of the newly appointed Special Adviser was also the opportunity to discuss the longstanding partnership between the IOC and the United Nations. In using sport as a tool in the achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the two organizations will further their cooperation in numerous areas such as peace-building, the fight against doping and the protection of the environment. They will also explore new areas of joint activities such as the Youth Olympic Games.
The Special Adviser also met with Jordi Serra, Executive Director of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) based in Renens, Switzerland. With table tennis one of the sports at the upcoming Olympic Games, numerous activities are planned to utilise the sport as a vehicle to bring people together and promote world peace.
For more information, please contact:
Antoine Tardy, United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace.
Email: atardy@unog.ch; telephone: +41 22 917 25 55.
Appointed on 18 March 2008 as the successor to Adolf Ogi, former President of Switzerland, Wilfried Lemke intends to build on the work of his predecessor in strengthening the relationship between the UN and the world of sport.
Both the Special Adviser and the President of the IOC pledged their commitment to ensure the Games are celebrated by Beijing, China and the world in an Olympic spirit of friendship and respect. Dr. Rogge pointed out that “by choosing to award the Games to China in July 2001, one fifth of humanity would be hosting the world’s biggest sporting event.” The Games, he said, are an opportunity to remember and encourage the changes that China has made in a compressed time period, including initiatives and laws directly related to Games hosting, such as new media laws, and environmental, education and sports programmes.
Expressing concern about the challenging international backdrop which the Olympic Games have been drawn into in recent weeks, Mr. Lemke said “I hope that the Beijing 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games will leave a lasting legacy in China and beyond,” adding that “the spirit of the Olympic Games requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship and solidarity.”
Following the visit of the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, to the IOC on 22 January 2008, where he expressed his full cooperation and support to President Rogge, the visit of the newly appointed Special Adviser was also the opportunity to discuss the longstanding partnership between the IOC and the United Nations. In using sport as a tool in the achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the two organizations will further their cooperation in numerous areas such as peace-building, the fight against doping and the protection of the environment. They will also explore new areas of joint activities such as the Youth Olympic Games.
The Special Adviser also met with Jordi Serra, Executive Director of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) based in Renens, Switzerland. With table tennis one of the sports at the upcoming Olympic Games, numerous activities are planned to utilise the sport as a vehicle to bring people together and promote world peace.
For more information, please contact:
Antoine Tardy, United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace.
Email: atardy@unog.ch; telephone: +41 22 917 25 55.
