Fifteen years have passed since the first edition of the Peace & Sport International Forum. Organized at the beginning with discretion and uncertainty about its future, the event has today found its place, not only in the international sports movement, but also in the political and diplomatic world.
A few days before the 2024 edition, which is to be held on December 2 and 3 in Monaco, Joël Bouzou, the founder and president of Peace & Sport, looks back on the history of the Forum and its evolution. He also discusses the year 2024 for peace through sport.
FrancsJeux : What did the idea and concept of peace through sport represent fifteen years ago, at the time of the first Peace & Sport Forum?
Joel Bouzou : A dream. A conviction. A feeling. At the time, the potential existed, of course. There was something, but nothing really organized. Some international sports leaders were already using sport as a tool for peace development, but most of them did it without knowing it.
In fifteen years, what has been the main change?
I will mention two. The first is the most obvious: peace through sport has become not only a reality, but also a family. The concept has gone beyond the framework of the sports movement. It is understood and taken into consideration by peace actors and by governments. The other change, at least as important, lies in the possibility of measuring sport now as a tool for developing peace in the broad sense of the term: self-esteem, dignity, respect for others, acceptance of difference. We have equipped ourselves with indicators to measure all of this. We know what we are doing. We can even export it.
What role have athletes played, and still play?
A major role. Major and decisive. Their notoriety is global. They speak to everyone, especially young people, with an impact and echo different from those of the representatives of power. Athletes are also the embodiment of what equity in sport can achieve. On a sports field, victory does not depend on wealth or birth. This gives their words great credibility.
Do the sometimes very strict rules of international sporting bodies, particularly the IOC, not hinder their expression of the values of peace through sport?
They are less and less so. The IOC is setting an example by relaxing its rules. It is not possible for an athlete to express a political opinion on the competition field, which is normal and justified, but they can now do so off-site: in the mixed zone, for example, or on social media. But speech must be responsible. At Peace & Sport, we try to help our Champions for Peace by providing them with tools not only to make themselves heard, but also to set up actions and launch initiatives.
Was 2024 a good year for peace through sport?
I think so. The Paris 2024 Games were a huge success. They showed that sport could bring together a country, France, where people are often very divided and struggle to live together. They illustrated in a rather extraordinary way the power of sport as a unifying tool. But I would have liked to see athletes from all countries be able to participate, without discrimination based on their nationality. Participation in the Games must be based on merit, not on one's passport. The Olympic Village expresses diversity. Sport must remain above the fray.
The Peace & Sport2024 Forum will notably be marked by a march for peace. Why organize it this year in Monaco?
We will have champions with us, we will have political figures. The Forum is coming a few months after the Paris 2024 Games. The opportunity is too good to miss to bring all these actors together so that they can march in complete neutrality. And it will be very symbolic to do it in Monaco, a neutral state led by a sovereign who has been an Olympian five times.
The 2023 Forum was organized in Saudi Arabia. Is this an illustration of Peace & Sport's desire to regularly export its event from now on?
This shows the importance of our organization on the international level. I am quite proud that we were able to organize this 2023 Forum in a country in full evolution, to all the new members of society, where sport plays a major role in changing society. We had already been to the United Arab Emirates and Rhodes. We will continue on this path, in complete neutrality and independence.
