During the Sportaccord conference in Denver, United States, ITTF Executive Director Jordi Serra signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Peace and Sport’s President Mr. Joël Bouzou.
The MoU aims to build peace-promotion and peace-building programmes worldwide through table tennis.
Peace and Sport’s Mission
Peace and Sport’s mission is to promote sustainable peace by raising awareness and educating youth about peace using the structuring values of sport. The Monaco based non-governmental organisation is under the High Patronage of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco and leadership of President Joël Bouzou.
Undertaking projects in areas suffering the consequences of armed conflict, areas of extreme poverty or lacking social cohesion, Peace and Sport makes sport a vehicle for tolerance, respect and citizenship, at the service of Sustainable Peace. Peace and Sport has interventions in Cote d’Ivoire, Burundi, Israel-Palestine, in the Great Lakes Region in Africa, in Timor Leste, in Colombia and is planning interventions in Haiti.
Peace and Sport held their second forum in Monaco December 2008, attended by royalty, representatives of governments and Sports Ministers, United Nations agencies, International Olympic Committee members, International Federations (IF), National Olympic Committees, non-governmental organisations and business decision-makers. The ITTF made presentations during the forum, which raised the profile of the ITTF. ITTF is among the very first IF’s to partner with Peace and Sport.
Ping Pong Paz – a First Joint Project
The ITTF Development Department has been liaising with Peace and Sport for some time with the view to setting up a first joint project.
“Ping Pong Paz” (Peace through Ping Pong) in Colombia was chosen as the first joint project involving Peace and Sport, locally based non-governmental organisation “Colombianitos”, the Colombian Table Tennis Association, the table tennis manufacturer Butterfly and the ITTF. A planning visit was held in 2008 with full implementation of the project to commence in mid-2009.
Future projects in East Timor and a project in Palm Island Australia through the Cathy Freeman Foundation are currently discussed.
Peace and Sport’s President Joël Bouzou (left) and ITTF Executive Director Jordi Serra agreed on a partnership.
Photo by Courtesy of Jordi Serra
Source ittf.com
