Paris, July 5 {No.99-153 } - The three-day World Conference on Education and Sport for a Culture of Peace, organised by UNESCO and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), opened today at UNESCO Headquarters, bringing together representatives of the sports movement, governments and inter- and non-governmental organisations to reflect on the contributions that sport and education make to promoting a culture of peace.

In his opening remarks, UNESCO Director-General Federico Mayor emphasised the importance of such a meeting, on the eve of the new millennium, to promote positive change conducive to building peace. "We have so many important decisions to take at this end of the century. We are here to talk about sport, education and peace all together. We are here to sing a song of life," said Mr Mayor. "We are starting to write a new page. The world must say 'enough is enough' to force and to death. If we want this new point of reference, to give our children new horizons, it is time to have encounters like this."

"We can't change the past, but we can write the future," continued Mr Mayor. "Sport is one of the key words for writing the future together." Encouraging the everyday practice of the values inherent in sport - tolerance, fair play, respect for one's adversary - is essential to peace-building, and particularly crucial in areas of the world threatened by conflict, he said: "We can act preventively. Prevention is the best victory."

The President of the International Olympic Committee, Juan Antonio Samaranch, noted with satisfaction the participation of Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Georges Papandreou and Mayor of Athens Dimitri Avramopoulos, reminding the audience that the first Olympic Games were held in Greece (beginning in 776 B.C) thanks to a sacred "Olympic Truce". "Greece," said Mr Samaranch, "was thus the first country to teach us a lesson about the importance of sport (in building peace)." In recent years, the IOC and the United Nations have successfully co-operated to reinforce respect of the Olympic Truce, as a contribution to the culture of peace.

Mr Samaranch cited other concrete actions by the IOC that complement the peace-building objectives of UNESCO and other UN agencies. These include the Olympic Solidarity programme that gives special scholarships to Third World athletes to encourage their participation in the Games and give them a chance to obtain good results, and the donation of sports equipment to refugee camps, most recently in Albania and Macedonia. "The most important thing for a country today is education," said Mr Samaranch at the end of his address, "because education can bring peace." He further remarked that sport has an important role to play in education as an affirmation of youth and as a means to impart essential values.

The opening ceremony concluded with the reading of a message from United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, sending his greetings to conference participants. "UNESCO and the International Olympic Committee merit our gratitude," he said. "Indeed, the Olympic ideal - amity and understanding among peoples and nations - has long been recognised as closely resembling the ideals enshrined in the United Nations Charter."

"There are other means, less traditional than official diplomacy, which can play a role in promoting peace," stated Mr Annan. "Sport is one such path. (It) has long displayed an inspiring ability to overcome national, political, ethnic and cultural differences. It is a vehicle for education.... It can be especially powerful in instilling in children and young people universal values such as respect and tolerance. It is a formidable weapon in the fight against discrimination and violence."

The conference, one of the events preparing the International Year for the Culture of Peace (2000), will cover five main themes: Education for a Culture of Peace and Sport; Building a Peaceful and Better World through Sport and the Olympic Ideal; The Values of Olympism and the Culture of Peace; Sport as an Element of Integration in Community Life; Sport and International Co-operation in the Field of Education for a Culture of Peace. The meeting will end with the adoption of an appeal and the presentation of Agenda 21 for Sport and Environment.