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

Sport and Peace

Prof. Dr. Richard Giulianotti

Durham University, UK

richard.giulianotti@durham.ac.uk

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