POSTED: Wednesday October 5th 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monaco Major Summit for Peace through Sport

500 leading decision-makers and several Heads of State will meet in Monaco from 26 to 28 October, at the initiative of the international organization Peace and Sport

Monaco, 5 October 2011 - For the fifth year running, the Principality of Monaco is preparing to host a historic summit meeting for peace through sport: the Peace and Sport International Forum 2011 which will take place from 26-28 October.

Under the High Patronage and in presence of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco , this unique event gathers under the same roof key opinion leaders and leading international figures from politics, sport, the private sector and civil society to discuss possible initiatives and partnerships to make sport a vehicle for dialogue, stability and reconciliation throughout the world.

The 2011 edition of the Peace and Sport International Forum will be ambitious, with participation of over 500 key players from 95 countries.

There will be some particularly distinguished speakers to mark this fifth edition. Among them, four Heads of State who embody the commitment of policymakers to make sport a driving force for social cohesion and national reconstruction: The King of Lesotho, H.R.H. LETSIE III, the President of the Republic of Burundi, H.E. Pierre Nkurunziza, the President of the Republic of Hungary H.E. Pál SCHMITT, and the President of the Republic of Macedonia H.E. Gjorge IVANOV.

More than 40 presenters will take the floor to share their expertise and lead debates and discussions during the Forum.

Joël Bouzou, President and Founder of "Peace and Sport L'Organisation pour la Paix par le Sport" explains: "The Peace and Sport International Forum began in Monaco for good reasons. The Principality's neutrality and long tradition of defending great humanitarian causes make it a perfect setting for this conference that is totally apolitical. Where else can we invite Heads of State and Ministers from countries in conflict to discuss joint initiatives for peace? Every year we manage to bring together people from a wide range of political and religious persuasions and ethnic backgrounds, from grassroots level to Heads of State, to debate the necessary contribution of sport in peace-building and peace-keeping in the world. This is the kind of accomplishment that is Peace and Sport's 'raison d'être'. And we hope to go even further this year."

Since its launch in 2007, the Peace and Sport International Forum has been increasingly successful and established itself as an essential event in the diplomatic sports calendar for peace and sport.

"The idea for this gathering was born from the observation that although there are a great number of initiatives which put sport at the service of peace in the world, there is little sharing and cooperation between all the different stakeholders," Joel Bouzou continues. "This Forum is a unique meeting place, a platform for exchanges at the highest level, allowing political, economic and sports authorities to talk around a common theme: how sport can promote reconciliation between communities by helping them to accept their differences. Our aim is to promote diplomacy through sport, to generate real synergies between players and above all to produce concrete proposals to help communities in need. »

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To consult the program and list of participants for the Peace and Sport International Forum 2011, please visit http://www.peace-sport.org
For more information, contact press@peace-sport.org / +33 (0) 6 83 37 66 21
ABOUT PEACE AND SPORT
"Peace and Sport, L'Organisation pour la Paix par le Sport" is a neutral and apolitical international initiative based in the Principality of Monaco and placed under the High Patronage of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco.

Peace and Sport puts sport and its values at the heart of local development projects conducted within communities in crisis around the world. Exercising its missions in post-conflict zones, areas of extreme poverty or lacking social cohesion, Peace and Sport makes sport a vehicle for tolerance, respect, sharing and citizenship at the service of sustainable peace.

Supported by governments, world sport governing bodies, international organizations, major international private companies and international sports champions, Peace and Sport creates synergies between different stakeholders based on four different activities:

- The annual Peace and Sport International Forum (next edition in Monaco from 26-28 October 2011)
- A co-operation platform for peace and sport,
- The Peace and Sport Awards, to reward individuals and initiatives contributing to peace,
- Locally-Based Projects; concrete actions in different regions of crisis in the world

Today, Peace and Sport has operations in Cote d'Ivoire , Burundi , Israel-Palestine, Timor Leste, Colombia and in Haiti.

Peace and Sport was founded by Joel Bouzou, current President of the organisation. Joel Bouzou is an Olympic medallist, world champion of Modern Pentathlon and current Secretary General for the International Union of Modern Pentathlon (UIPM). He is also Advisor to H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco .

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Keywords · Peace and Sport · Joel Bouzou · Prince Albert of Monaco

Name: Valérie Amant
Organization: Peace and Sport
Email:
Phone: +33 6 83 37 66 21
URL: http://www.peace-sport.org/home.htm

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