Report by Ms. Loréna Schlicht, AFCDRP–Mayors for Peace France
On November 30, 2022, Mr. Philippe Rio, Mayor of Grigny and President of the AFCDRP–Mayors for Peace France, participated in the Peace and Sport International Forum, which the organization Peace and Sport held in the Principality of Monaco from November 30 to December 1. At the session titled “The Role of Sport in Building Sustainable Peace” between 14:00 and 14:55, President Rio spoke on stage in an interview conducted by Mr. Pascal Boniface, Director and Founder of the French Institute for International and Strategic Relations (IRIS).
Philippe Rio said, “As the President of Mayors for Peace France, [I would like to say] that fighting against exclusion and poverty is first of all considering sport as a right per se—we forget this very often, especially in France—alongside the other rights: to accommodation, housing, education, and culture… Sport should be considered in this way, and we have to build a sport nation. This starts with […] the city and the local district.”
Peace and Sport is an organization that leads a unique international platform to promote the intentional use of sport as a peacebuilding tool. In the current international context in which conflict is on the rise, the Peace and Sport International Forum 2022 brought together experts from around the world around the theme “Sport, a response for peace”. The Forum offered a variety of ways in which the participants could share experiences, have discussions, and have interviews on the first day, November 30, which was concluded by the prestigious Peace and Sport Awards ceremony.
Link for the Mayor Rio video interview session (from 7.30 to 20.39):
https://forum.peace-sport.org/en/session/eac0d4b7-81f0-ec11-b47a-a04a5e7cf9da
