Sport & Faith Congregate At The Vatican
The first global conference on faith and sport takes place this week at the Vatican, with an opening ceremony led by Pope Francis, with UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon and IOC president Thomas Bach invited as special guests.
The conference, Sport at the Service of Humanity, aims to unite people from every faith, nationality and culture through sport, in a common goal: To help the ones who need it most, especially the marginalised and the disadvantaged, and to encourage everyone to develop their life skills, character, values, and enjoyment of life itself, through sport.
To achieve this goal, Sport at the Service of Humanity will launch a movement to develop life skills, character, values and enjoyment of life through sport, inspiring every organisation and individual to live in accordance with six principles: Compassion, respect, love, enlightenment, balance and joy.
The six principles will be the common ground for sport ambassadors, faith leaders and other influencers, according to organisers the Pontifical Council for Culture, under the leadership of Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi.
Cardinal Ravasi commented: “Authentic sport is an expression of a fundamental category of the human person. It is a free manifestation of creativity, fantasy and potential. This noble activity can degenerate through well-known devastating elements. But sport, in its origins as today, is part of the paideia, the educational and personal growing process that can bring eurythmia (harmony) between body and soul.”
Today’s sessions will feature speakers including Tim Shriver, chairman of Special Olympics International; Sir Phillip Craven, president of IPC; Mel Young, founder of Homeless World Cup and many more.
Breakout sessions will also be led by the likes of Dr Sam Ramsamy, vice president of FINA; Linda Catherine Hofstad Helleland, the minister of culture at the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Culture; HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein, president, Jordan Olympic Committee; Ivan Gazidis, CEO at Arsenal Football Club; and Nick Keller, CEO and founder, Beyond Sport.
Allianz is the founding partner of Sport at the Service of Humanity, while the United Nations and the International Olympic Committee are special supporters of the event.
Oliver Bäte, CEO of Allianz, added: “Sport helps youth find courage, resilience and inspiration, and to overcome barriers to social inclusion. That’s why we strongly support this conference and the mission of the Humanity Sports Club, which will promote the transformational power of Sport worldwide.”
