The
Swiss Tennis Champion is proclaimed
the first Spokesperson for the International
Year of Sport and Physical Education
(IYSPE 2005) in recognition of the
outstanding example he sets as a role
model in sport and his foundation’s
work in South Africa.
United Nations, New York, 25
May 2005 – Roger Federer
of Switzerland, the number one tennis
player in the world, has accepted
the appointment of United Nations
Spokesperson for the International
Year of Sport and Physical Education
(IYSPE 2005), announced Adolf Ogi,
Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General
on Sport for Development and Peace,
at the UN in New York today.
The tennis champion, winner of the
Laureus Sportsman of the Year Award
for 2005, has pledged to cooperate
with the United Nations to use of
the power of sport to bridge cultural
and ethnic divides and improve the
quality of people’s lives. An
example of his commitment is the Roger
Federer Foundation in South Africa,
which helps widen educational opportunities
by funding school fees for hundreds
of children, providing them with a
warm meal each day and paying teachers’
salaries.
Roger Federer joined with UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan and his Special Adviser
Adolf Ogi for the launch of the IYSPE
2005 at UN Headquarters in New York
on 4 November 2004.
IYSPE 2005 seeks to encourage the use of sports to promote education, health, development and peace. "Sport can play a role in improving the lives of whole communities", said UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. "I am convinced that the time is right to build on that understanding, to encourage governments, development agencies and communities to think how sport can be included more systematically in the plans to help children, particularly those living in the midst of poverty, disease and conflict."
"Our goal, together with world class athlete Roger Federer, is to ensure that
the value of sport for the achievement
of human development and lasting peace
is understood by all. Sport can make
a difference in people's lives and
Roger Federer is an excellent illustration
of this difference and he is a model
for all young athletes," said Adolf
Ogi.
The United Nations has long acknowledged the importance of sport in society and has established strong ties to the sports world. Its agencies, funds and programmes have undertaken a wide variety of sports-related activities both to help improve the lives of poor or marginalized people and to call attention to pressing challenges, such as environmental degradation.
Initiatives range from projects to ensure that children in refugee camps have access to vital play and recreaction activities, to programmes to promote education by linking sports participation to school attendance and academic performance, to activities designed to create jobs at newly-developed recreational zones at sports facilities where the unemployed can receive vocational training.
In November 2003, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 58/5 recognizing the power of sport as a means to promote education, health, development and peace and proclaiming 2005 as the International Year of Sport and Physical Education.
For press queries, please contact:
In New York:
Richard Leonard, Tel.: (212) 457-1254,
E-mail: richard.leonard@undp.org
or Karima Zerrou, Tel.: (212) 457-1075,
E-mail: karima.zerrou@undp.org
In Geneva:
Michael Kleiner, Tel: (41-22) 917-2555,
E-mail: mkleiner@unog.ch
For more information on the International
Year of Sport and Physical Education
(IYSPE 2005) and on the United Nations
work in the area of sports for development
and peace, please visit: http://www.un.org/sport2005
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