The Foreign Ministry commemorated today the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace created by the United Nations General Assembly in 2013. Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard inaugurated a forum on "Sports Diplomacy and Cooperation for Development and Peace," which highlights sports diplomacy as a way of creating better relationships and understanding that we can aspire to a world without violence.

The forum, organized by the Matías Romero Institute, the Universidad Iberoamericana and the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID), marks the conclusion of discussions that began in late 2020 to exchange experiences on sports and international relations.   

In his remarks, the Foreign Secretary thanked the institutions for their efforts, comparing the world of sports to international relations. He said that, at their root, sports arise from the aspiration to mold competition, conflict and violence to established rules, which results in a system of norms, rules and checks and balances, where teams and great athletes compete and everyone respects the rules of the game, which forbid force, something we aspire to in the multilateral arena today.

International institutions involved in using sports as a tool for development, peace and human rights participated in the forum. Philipp Muller-Wirth, Executive Officer for Sport, and Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences, both of UNESCO, gave the keynote address. They spoke about the link between the Sustainable Development Goals and sport, and about regulations in sports, international cooperation and peace around the world, with a focus on the 2017 Kazan Action Plan.

Discussing the importance of sports as a tool for peace, development and human rights, especially during the pandemic, were the president and founder of the Peace and Sport organization, Joël Bouzou; the president of the International Center for Sport Security (ICSS), Mohammed Hanzab; the president of the Centre for Sports and Human Rights, Mary Harvey; and the director and founder of the Center for Sport, Peace and Society, Sarah Hillyer. They highlighted guidelines for mega sporting events to follow to drive respect for human rights and for more integrated societies.

In the last segment, representatives from AMEXCID, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation, La Liga Mx and La Liga (Spain) discussed the link between sports and development from the point of view of public-private partnerships. They also discussed their current and future institutional efforts, highlighting the social and sustainable responsibility of sports companies.

Also participating in the forum, among others,  were the head of the Matías Romero Institute, Alejandro Alday; the Director General of Bilateral Economic Relations of AMEXCID, Carlos Castillo; the interim executive coordinator of the Technical Council for Sports Diplomacy and Cooperation, Erik Del Angel Landeros, and Drs. Diana Plaz and Valeria Valle of the Universidad Iberoamericana, the latter as director of the International Studies Department. 

Lastly, the Institute for Mexicans Abroad and the Technical Council for Sports Diplomacy and Cooperation organized the virtual International Day of Sports for Development and Peace races from March 22 to April 6, with distances of 3 km (walk), 5K and 10K.  Almost 100 Mexicans abroad participated, strengthening the message of sports and peace promoted by the Ministry as part of this international day.

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