The CISM International “Sports for Peace Forum” was organized in the framework of the first CISM Winter Military World Games. The event took place in Aosta Valley, where some of the most important authorities in the field of Sport and Peace discussed the Forum subject: “From positive initiatives to systematically integrated programs“.

The event counted on the presences of the President of the Aosta Valley Dr. Agusto Rollandin, HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, the IOC Vice-President Dr. Mario Pescante, the President of CISM Maj. Gen. Dr. Gianni Gola.

The Forum had two main sessions: “Armed Forces experiences in conflict areas” and "Concrete proposals to integrate sports programs in conflict areas", when lecturers discussed and presented their impression on how to integrate sports programs in the process of peacekeeping operations, social integration and educational programs. Click here to see the Forum program.

Some of the most exciting moments were when Gen Gen. Augusto Heleno (BRA) presented the role of sports in helping the peace process in Haiti, and when Lt. Col. Stefan Fredriksson (SWE) took the floor to tell his personal experiences in Afghanistan, where he was just some weeks ago among the military personnel engaged in the UN peacekeeping mission.

The closing session started with the HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco officially communicating his support to CISM: “Each sport event can communicate a message of peace and tolerance to young people. In the field of military sports these values can be a worthy tool in the operation of peacekeeping in difficult situations”. Asthe patronage of Sport for Peace Organization in Monaco, Prince Albert kindly entitled the CISM President, Maj. Gen. Dr. Gianni Gola, as Peace and Sports ambassador.

The IOC Vice-President, Dr. Mario Pescante, underlined that examples of peace development in difficult territories have been given by the UN commandants of peacekeeping missions. Football, as it was demonstrated by Gen. Augusto Heleno, and martial arts gave a contribution to calm down difficult situation in the Haiti’s shantytowns, and in the refugee’s camps during the Balkan’s war.

“Sport should become a mean of education to peace in all peacekeeping missions under the name of the United Nations and the CISM countries”, proposed Gen Gianni Gola, the President of CISM. “Our sport events are the only opportunity for military coming from different countries to meet and know each other in an atmosphere of loyal confrontation: this is the best education to peace that we can teach to young soldiers. Sport champions can be an example for young people coming from destabilized countries” – concluded the President.

All of the representatives recognized that CISM and the Armed Forces are important players in the Sport for Peace Movement, and agreed that partnership is the most important lesson learned because it enables us to concretely foster the use of sport as a development tool in conflict areas.

Then, Gen. Gola invited all participants to join the highest authorities, civilian and military, and sign the “CISM Aosta Call-to-Action 2010 on Sport for Peace” which summarizes the common wishes and urges all institutions to formally establish a bilateral and mutual agreement in order to undertake programs aimed at sharing good practices and effectively implementing Sport for Peace programs.

Download the “CISM Aosta call to Action 2010 on Sport for Peace”. : Original version
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