December 10 – Ministers of sport and representatives of sports bodies from over 20 countries have urged policy makers to change their outlook and give sport greater priority as a tool for change.
A behind-closed-doors forum at the three-day Doha Goals conference in Qatar discussed the growing importance of promoting social cohesion and tackling youth unemployment and corruption.
The conference, established last year, is one of a plethora of high-profile sporting talk shops in the Qatari capital but its executive producer, Richard Attias, insists that the sports ministers summit was not just designed to acquire more government funding to host major events.
“This is not about lobbying for more money,” he said afterwards. “This is about recognising that sport has an impact on education, on health, on social integration and on the economy.”
At the end of the summit delegates welcomed the spirit of collaboration between government and private sector.
“There is a need to work with private sector actors and sports leaders as to what we can do collectively to create the right policy environment to ensure that the technological advances made within professional sport can be harnessed for the greater good of the people,” a statement said.
“Major sporting events are also a showcase for the importance of nations collaborating across borders to promote transparency and to fight corruption.”
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