Opinions & Interviews

Opinion: Sport is an attempt to find ways to resolve international conflicts

MINSK, 25 June (BelTA) – Sport is an attempt to find ways to resolve international conflicts. The statement was made by President of the European Olympic Committees Janez Kocijancic during the conference Sport Diplomacy: Creating Opportunities Through Sport on 25 June, BelTA has learned.

Janez Kocijancic reminded that in the past all conflicts and wars were suspended for the duration of Olympic Games. Nowadays major competitions, including the European Games, contribute to the unification of countries. “Sport is an attempt to find ways to resolve many international conflicts,” the president of the European Olympic Committees said.

In his opinion, sport plays a certain diplomatic role and the fact should be used to establish relations between countries. “Sport makes the world better. We are creating a world of friendship where wars don’t exist. We advance friendship between our countries through sport,” Janez Kocijancic said.

The expert and diplomatic conference Sport Diplomacy: Creating Opportunities Through Sport has been arranged by the Minsk European Games Organizing Committee (MEGOC) in association with the Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies (BISS). The conference’s format and goals are unique. It is the first time the conference has been arranged at a sport venue during an international tournament. The expert community is discussing the capability of sport diplomacy to build bridges between countries, communities, people as well as the contribution of top-level sport events to sustainable development, the role of Olympic values, the civil society, the volunteer movement, high-ranking officials and experts in it.

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