The members of ACOLOP's Executive Committee, made up of the president, Filomena Fortes, and the vice-presidents, João Costa Alegre and Sérgio Mané, took part in the lecture "Sport for development and peace" which took place on 9 April at the Panathlon Club of Lisbon.
The event began with the imposition of the white card by all the participants, a reminder that April is the month in which we celebrate the role that sport can play in promoting peace.
The President of ACOLOP was one of the speakers, who, together with Alexandre Mestre, a member of the Pierre de Coubertin International Committee, Maria Machado, Project Manager for the Portuguese Olympic Committee, and Vítor Serpa, journalist and moderator of the talk, discussed the theoretical and original concepts of sport, but also its possibilities for application in the service of human and social development.
From the Olympic truce, in which war conflicts were suspended so that the Olympic Games would always be held in a climate of peace, to the role of sport in today's medium and major conflict contexts, the talk at Panathlon was a moment to address different realities in which change is possible through the practice of sport.
"It's possible to change mentalities through sport," said the president of ACOLOP, adding: "Our medals are social projects, every time a social project has an impact on our society, that's a medal for me."
Through the experience of the Cape Verdean Olympic Committee (COC), the president of ACOLOP, who is also the president of the COC, explained the importance and the return on the work done with communities to create local empowerment and improve conflict management.
He cited the examples of the "Sport and Citizenship", "Verde OLympics" and "Fight for Peace" projects that have been successfully implemented in Cape Verde, with the latter starting its second edition this month.
The conference is available at: Monthly Session | Sport for development and peace - YouTube
#WhiteCard #April6 #SportsForPeace #UnidospeloDesporto #ACOLOP20years
