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Mr Ogi,
Colleagues
of the UN family and key sports-related organizations,
It is a great pleasure to join you today at the
start of a new initiative for the UN family and for NGOs involved in
sport and physical activity. It comes at a time when we need to give
hope and practical means of achieving peace and better health outcomes
to the worlds’ poorest countries and communities: especially to our
youth. As Mr Ogi has just mentioned, this opens new avenues for peace
and development.
Last week, your representative, as well as Johan
Koss from Olympic Aid, and representatives from the International
Olympic Committee, the Federation internationale de Football
Association and the Federation internationale de l’Automobile joined
us when we launched the Tobacco Free Sports Campaign. We did this on
the opening day of the latest round of negotiations to develop a
Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Although fog in Seoul
prevented me from getting back for the event itself.
The message given on my behalf was a simple one:
tobacco and sport do not, and should not mix. We need to break our
dependence on tobacco sponsorship and at the same time expand our
support for increased participation in sport and physical activity
world-wide.
Indeed, World Health Day 2002 will focus on fitness
and physical activity. Our theme: Fit for Health. The World Health
Report for 2002 will publish new data on the major risks to health.
Among them, the importance of physical activity will strongly emerge.
Events are being planned with WHO and many other groups during the
Salt Lake City Olympics and the Korea/Japan Football World Cup to
highlight the importance of physical activity and sport as a means of
improving the health of populations and of generating a positive sense
of well-being.
The combined efforts of the UN family and the key
NGOs and other groups assembled today will also help us show how sport
is a way individuals can work effectively together within agreed
rules. Sport stimulates good habits, lessons and values. Regular
exercise, healthy eating, no smoking: three simple habits which
underpin a major part of our work to prevent heart disease, cancer,
respiratory disease, diabetes and oral disease.
Lessons and values learned by young people on a
soccer field, in a swimming pool or on an athletic race track, have
application for life. Perseverance, tolerance, stamina, future
planning, fair rules. These are the lessons of sport. These are also
the lessons for peace and development.
I strongly endorse this initiative and am
particularly pleased that the Secretary General has appointed Mr Ogi
to lead this work within the UN. I have been inspired by Mr Ogi’s
excellence on the ski slopes and political leadership in the Swiss
Parliament when he was President. He demonstrates that the ancient
well-known quote, "mens sana in corpora sana" is true. In
moving this work ahead let us apply the quote to the body of our
organizations. I have no doubt that in doing so we will contribute to
peace, health and development.
Thank you.
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