Tuesday, April 24, 2018

World Sports Alliance - The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP). Reason 24

The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP). Reason 24: Qatar and Africa.


Qatar and African countries would, therefore, have in common to have natural resources that can finance their sustainable development. The comparison stops there. After visiting Aspire Academy we quickly understand what Youth sport would have to win to tie to the sustainable development of a country. How has Qatar proceeded to associate sport with sustainable development?

The country has based its development on the exploitation of its subsoil. After this British protectorate gained independence on 3 September 1971, it became the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, the country's first economic pillar. But Qatar soon realized that it had to look further, and predict the exhaustion of this resource. That is why the second pillar of its economy is based on diversification, ultimately essential for its survival, especially with investments abroad in various forms: industry, luxury, media or sports, etc. It would be sufficient for Africa to exploit its subsoil for itself. See next.


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World Sports Alliance International Governmental Organization - The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP). Reason 23

The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP). Reason 23: The subsoil of Qatar.


For the old physical education teacher who I am, Aspire Academy is a dream. I was able to skim it in 2013 and 2015, at the invitation of Doha GOALS, then the ICSS and UNESCO. Qatar's strategy is simple: fund its overall sporting strategy through subsoil revenues. Our organization then had as a socio-economic model to sign public-private partnerships with its member states. One of the objectives was the funding of youth sport, including the construction of sports academies for young people in Africa. Faced with the systematic refusal of the International Monetary Fund, an economist had recommended the solution to break the deadlock. Africa is full of minerals. Over the centuries, this subsoil has been plundered by the colonizing states, exploited by foreign companies, without the populations benefiting from this huge development potential. So, the subsoil was the only way for African states to regain control of their sustainable development. See next.

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Monday, April 23, 2018

World Sports Alliance IGO - The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP). Reason 22

The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP). Reason 22: Dream and reality.


In 1976, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, President of the French Republic established the summer time thus: "You see, in France, we have no oil but we have ideas!". Following the dream of academies in Africa combining sports and studies, what is the reality for young people in a country that has oil and ideas: Qatar.

“Aspire Academy was founded with the goal to find and develop the best young male Qatari athletes, whilst also providing them with high quality secondary school education (…) The identification of talents at an early age is important and therefore we cooperate with schools and sports federations; we also have Multi-sport Skills Development Centers (…) to promote sports and prepare talented youths before they reach the appropriate age to be considered for the Academy”.

The Academy conducts scouting in the clubs and schools and as has its Talent Centres with a long-term goals that some graduates will represent Qatar at the FIFA World Cup 2022. In athletics the graduate Mutaz Essa Barshim is the current World Champion and Olympic bronze medalist. In Africa we return to reality. See next.

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Sunday, April 22, 2018

World Sports Alliance - The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP). Reason 21

The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP). Reason 21: ten million dollars.
 


Investors often ask us what concrete SDP operations they could fund. They now have some sources of inspiration. In Ethiopia, an Olympic champion creates a foundation for youth education. In Benin, a 16-year-old boy jumps 1m 95 cm. In Rabat, the ministers meeting at the first African forum of school sport call for the creation of sports-studies classes. Let's coordinate these three proposals. School sport helps identify sports talent. But in their schools, these young people do not have a timetable designed to educate themselves while training. The organization I work for had planned to build sports academies in its member states. This was the case in Burundi. A sports academy for young people was to be built in Bujumbura for a budget of 10 million dollars (photo). Until the International Monetary Fund opposes the partnership. Burundi could not sign a partnership because of its structural adjustment program with this Bretton Woods organization. It is, therefore, necessary to go through other means of financing, as recommended now by the World Bank in the case of forest protection. See next.


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World Sports Alliance IGO - The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP). Reason 20

The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP). Reason 20: an incredible high jumper!

Investors often ask us what concrete SDP operations they could fund. They should be inspired by a visit I made to the college of Adjara, a small town in Benin. With my colleague, director of the National Institute of Sports and Physical Education, we visited sports facilities used by school audiences. We went to Adjara, a village 7 kilometers from Porto Novo on the road to Nigeria. For tourists, Adjara is the market for goats, voodoo ceremonial objects and percussion instruments. For me, Adjara became the site of a tremendous sporting feat.

In the college, we were invited to attend a physical education class. Young people aged 15 to 16 were engaged in a high jump competition. The run-up and the reception were performed on sand obliging the jumper to use a costal style. That day, the bravest one jumped 1m 95 cm. Since then I have been wondering what talents could emerge on Olympic stadiums if we built local sports centers for youth in Africa. And if we build sports academies so that talents train while continuing their studies. These are great challenges for investors! See next.


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Saturday, April 21, 2018

World Sports Alliance - The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP). Reason 19

The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP). Reason 19: the Afrolympic model (2).


Investors often ask us what concrete SDP operations they could fund. They should be inspired by the news of Haile Gebrselassie, Olympic champion turned businessman. In November 2017, Le Monde diplomatique told us about his new life that I summarize thus.

Since leaving the competition, the champion has been engaged in business by building an empire with over two thousand employees. But he thinks in terms of sustainable development. He wants to do business with honesty and good governance which according to him are obvious: "Above all, I now have ambition for my country. Conducted in honesty, business can transform people's lives”.

Haile summarizes the path that SDP investors must follow: "I started distributing around me, my family and my home village a long time ago. It is an ethical imperative in Africa ". More broadly, he wants to fund a foundation to educate the children of his country. Thus, using the ethical imperative, investors can help finance SDP initiatives such as local sports infrastructure, youth education programs or staff training, a national sports academy, etc. See next.

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World Sports Alliance IGO - The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP). Reason 18

The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP). Reason 18: the Afrolympic model (1)



Investors often ask us what concrete SDP operations they could fund. There is no point in making long speeches about sport and sustainable development. Here is an example that must become their model to follow.

All athletes know the champion Haile Gebrselassie. A two-time Olympic champion in the 10,000m, in 1996 in Atlanta and in 2000 in Sydney, quadruple world champion in the distance between 1993 and 1999, he held 27 world records, including those of 5,000m and 10,000m, before running the marathon. In Berlin, he set a new world record, becoming the first man in history to pass in 2 hours 4 minutes.

We all remembered his childhood in the 1980s in the province of Arsi in Ethiopia. A story whose children today, most of the time sitting, stuffed with sugars and intoxicated by their screens should be inspired. Born into a family of ten, he had to travel a ten kilometers distance to get to school from the family farm. Like Abebe Bikila, former Ethiopian Olympic marathon champion in the 1960s, every day he ran to school. See next.


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Friday, April 20, 2018

World Sports Alliance International Governmental Organization - The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP). Reason 17

The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP). Reason 17: who can we count on?


The Pyeongchang Games are over. But the controversy over the International Olympic Committee, which would be the UN's only interlocutor on sport for sustainable development, has not disappeared. We know it well! The IOC has more to whip than to speak for the people of the world, especially those who are poor and vulnerable. On this issue, UNESCO is already doing a lot. Kazan's plan should yield interesting results. But what to expect from public funding by the states? We have often repeated it. Northern states are struggling to increase their development aid because of debt reduction policies. Southern states are struggling to plan an elementary sustainable development policy. As the President of Ghana recently said, health and education in Africa cannot continue to depend on European taxpayers. As the Addis Ababa conference has shown, $ 90 to $ 120 trillion worth of sustainable development funding will necessarily come mainly from the private sector. So let's support the SDP concrete initiatives by involving the private sector. How to do? See next.


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World Sports Alliance - The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP). Reason 16

The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP). Reason 16: Olympism! But not alone.


In October 2017, in Lausanne, the CIO’s position for the SDP sector was formulated thus:
“The IOC Sustainability Strategy started with Olympic Agenda 2020 to make sustainable development an integrated part of the Olympic movement. The IOC recognizes three spheres of influence and impact (IOC as leader of the Olympic Movement, owner of the Olympic Games and as an organization itself). The five focus areas of the IOC sustainability strategy are infrastructure, sourcing & resource management, mobility, workforce, and climate which are aligned with 11 of the 17 SDGs”.

Everyone should do their bit. The IOC, one of many SDP organizations, is obviously focused on Olympism and the organization of the Olympic Games. As for him, according to the United Nations, "the Secretary-General is the embodiment of the ideals of the United Nations and the spokesperson of the peoples of the world, especially those who are poor and vulnerable". As a result, the voice of one organization, specifically the IOC alone, cannot speak for the peoples of the world on sport for development and peace. See next.


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Thursday, April 19, 2018

World Sports Alliance International Governmental Organization - The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP). Reason 15: Olympism first.

The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP). Reason 15: Olympism first.




In Pyeongchang, the Norwegian and German champions collect the gold medals. They are examples of effort, self-denial for a youth increasingly captive facing screens. Far from the Olympic awards, let's return to sport for development and peace.

I summarize the analysis of possible developments in the Sport sector for development and peace. Like others, I was surprised by the intervention in Pyeongchang of the Secretary-General of the United Nations who considered that in matters of sport, but especially of sustainable development through sport, he did not need other voices than of the International Olympic Committee.

It is true that the IOC's position is clear in terms of development. The report of the Lausanne seminar of October 5th on the sector SDP reminds him in these terms. See next.

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World Sports Alliance IGO - The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP). Reason 14: Elite sport.

The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP). 

Reason 14: Elite sport.




As a matter of fact, we continue to comment on the remark of the UN Secretary-General and the new Sport for Development and Peace policy that appears between the lines of this quote.

“In the sectors of sport, but also sport for development and peace, the United Nations would not need other voices than those of the International Olympic Committee”.

I do not want to believe that the Secretary-General is not aware of the complexity of the SDP sector and the need to take into account the diversity of stakeholders, but also their specific ethics and policies. The Lausanne seminar had shown a great diversity of approaches in the choice or prioritization of SDGs. The IOC and the federations had proposed ONE specific approach that was far from synthesizing diversity.

Sport, particularly elite sport, is an increasingly global phenomenon. Is it really a universal phenomenon likely to affect all populations on the planet? What about physical education, school sport, grassroots sport? What about informal and non-traditional physical activities, sports that are not organized in federations. What about the masses concerned by the SDGs but who remain distant from sport and its organizations in committees and federations? See next.


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Wednesday, April 18, 2018

World Sports Alliance - The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP) Reason 13: Universality 2

The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP)

Reason 13: Universality 2

“In the sectors of sport, but also Sport for Development and peace, the United Nations would not need other voices than those of the International Olympic Committee”.  This is the decision of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Let's continue our interrogation on the notion of universality. Two other definitions provide guidance on the UN's new universal sport for development and peace policy.

  1. Universality: The character of what extends to all men, of what is common to all men.
  2. Universality: The character of that which extends to the totality of a given human community, in particular, what comes from all.

Let's recap! Olympic sport no doubt extends to the whole world.  It extends at least to a given human collectivity, that of the elite and competitive sport. To the best of our knowledge is it extended to all men and is it common to all men. We can doubt it. See next.

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World Sports Alliance International Governmental Organization - The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP): Reason 12: Universality

The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP) 

Reason 12: Universality


Therefore, in PyeongChang, the Secretary-General of the United Nations said: “I have decided that the UN does not need to have any other voice in relation to sports but the voice of the International Olympic Committee”.

In the sectors of sport, but also the Sport for Development and Peace, the United Nations would not need other voices than those of the International Olympic Committee. This choice questions the notion of universality. I thought that the UN mission was universal by definition: Millennium Declaration 2000, Millennium Development Goals 2001, Sustainable Development Goals 2015, Agenda 2030 "Transforming the World". Its article 37 is very sad. Reading this statement by the Secretary-General, I have not doubted the mission of the United Nations, but my understanding of the notion of universality. So, I went back to those big dictionaries that give you a diversity of definition for the same word. I propose the first two:

  1. Character of what extends to everything, of what embraces everything.
  2. Character of what extends to the whole earth, of what is spread everywhere.

See next.

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Tuesday, April 17, 2018

World Sports Alliance IGO - The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP): Reason 11


The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP)


Reason 11: The UN’s Sports Policy





Africa has the means for its development,  including sports initiatives. I will return to the reasoning on the right reasons to finance initiatives in the area of sport for development and peace. But the news interrupts reasoning.  On 9th February 2018, in PyeongChang, Republic of Korea, on the occasion of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games the UN Secretary-General addressed some remarks to the press following his meeting with IOC President Thomas Bach.

I retained this extract:  “I am also very grateful for the exemplary cooperation between the International Olympic Committee and the United Nations. As you said Mr. President, your support in the protection of refugees, in combatting drug trafficking, in promoting gender equality, in the support of people with disabilities through your sister organization the International Paralympic Committee, but also in all other areas in which we are working together your support has been precious. We are extremely grateful.

As a matter of fact, we feel such a [unity] of points of view that I have decided that the UN does not need to have any other voice in relation to sports but the voice of the International Olympic
Committee. The International Olympic Committee represents by its values the same values that created the United Nations”.

This is somewhat perplexing and prompts me to interpret the new UN’s policy with caution. See next.

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World Sports Alliance - The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP): Reason 10

The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP)

Reason 10: Africa’s development







From the six lessons of financing sustainable development that was transmitted to me by some brilliant African brokers of ideas, I concluded:

“Seen from the South, sustainable development will necessarily involve the mobilization of funds likely to encourage the financing of economic projects, ranging from micro-projects to macro projects:  agricultural development, electrification, town sanitation, land use planning, construction of administrative or sports infrastructure, development of communication lines”.

“These projects will lead to the creation of SMEs and SMIs and will provide support for professional projects of women's groups, the launch of microfinance campaigns for young people, as well as the promotion of sports initiatives”.

Where can this investment come from? Probably not from global North. For two reasons. The global North is developing austerity policies. Africa has the means for its development. See next.

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Monday, April 16, 2018

World Sports Alliance - The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP): Reason 9

The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP)

 Reason 9: the evidence from the field.



How to raise funds on the markets to finance development, including sports for development and peace, without being immediately accused of being a crook.  When you travel to Africa, away from the world summits, far from the peremptory assertions of some whistleblowers, the financing process of sustainable development appears as obvious that is staring you in the face. In my blog, I recalled the six lessons of financing sustainable development that was transmitted to me by some brilliant
African brokers of ideas.

  1. Peace first! If the Sahel is the land of all dangers, Sub- Saharan Africa often remains a powder keg.
  2. Priority to development provided it is sustainable!
  3. Sustainable development means eradicating hunger.
  4. Reliance on international financial institutions does not necessarily promote sustainable development.
  5. From Africa, the model of the twentieth century from Bretton Woods is no longer suitable.
  6. Priority to the micro-economy and the funding of local projects.

I concluded: “Seen from the South, sustainable development will necessarily involve the mobilization of funds likely to encourage the financing of economic projects, ranging from micro-projects to macro-projects: agricultural development, electrification, town sanitation, land use planning, construction of administrative or sports infrastructure, development of communication routes. These projects will lead to the creation of SMEs and SMIs and will provide support for professional projects
of women's groups, the launch of microfinance campaigns for young people, as well as the promotion of sports initiatives”. See next.

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World Sports Alliance International Governmental Organization - The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP). Reason 8

The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP). 

Reason 8: Benefit or Scam.






Whistleblowers are doing their job. For them, most of those who try to raise funds to finance sustainable development are crooks.  Let's recap! According to the former UNDP director, to finance
sustainable development, the fuel will be lacking. During my speeches, I keep repeating that the states of the North are struggling to honor official development assistance. And that the countries of the South are tired of depending on the countries of the North to finance the health and education of their populations. According to the Addis Ababa conference, it is imperative to solicit the private sector to finance sustainable development. According to the World Bank, billions of dollars must be raised on the private markets to finance a single sustainable development goal. Therefore, how to raise funds in the markets to finance development without being immediately accused of being a crook? See my next post.

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Sunday, April 15, 2018

World Sports Alliance IGO - The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP). Reason 7


The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP). 


Reason 7: whistleblowers’ competence level.



Among whistleblowers, as in any socio-professional group, some are competent, others are less skilled.  The former work hard to collect relevant data. In sport, whistleblowers denounced the exploitation of children who make sporting goods, then forcing large transnational companies to adopt quality charters integrating respect for human rights. The latter does not work enough and stay in the form of things. Those who do not work enough often remain on a summary and narrowed analysis of sustainable development funding initiatives. For them, any initiative becomes suspicious. For them, the initiators think only to fill their pockets, but in any case to try to finance local development projects. For them, most of those who try to raise funds to finance sustainable development are crooks. See next.

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World Sports Alliance - The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP). Reason 6: The role of Whistleblowers.

The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP). 

Reason 6: The role of Whistleblowers.






Whistleblowers are doing their job. According to Wikipedia, when "they know of a danger, a risk or a scandal, (they) send a warning signal that triggers a process of regulation, controversy or collective mobilization." In sports, as elsewhere, whistleblowers have been and remain vigilant.

In the Sport for development and Peace” (SDP) sector, social movements such as "Nike Watch" and the "Clean Clothes Campaign" have campaigned against exploitative and oppressive practices in factories manufacturing sports goods. Their action has forced companies to adopt procedures that respect human rights and to engage in SDP initiatives.

Whistleblowers are doing their job. I reported in my blog about the abusive treatment against young athletes, especially young African footballers, by malicious agents.  Let us not forget the corruption and the human rights abuses in some federations or in some countries organizers of sports events. In this regard, the work of IHRB is exemplarily co-hosting the global "Sporting Chance Forum on Mega-Sporting Events and Human Rights" in Washington, DC, in 2016 and Geneva in 2017.  But among whistleblowers, as in any socio-professional class, some are good, others not so good. See next episode.

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Saturday, April 14, 2018

World Sports Alliance International Governmental Organization - The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP). Reason 5 (con't)

The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP). 

Reason 5: the necessary recourse to the
private sector (2).


Why and how to raise funds for “Sport for Development and Peace” initiatives? I understood the strategy when I worked on the funding processes for each of the Sustainable Development Goals. Following the process of the World Bank:

  1. Carbon resilience assumes several thousand billion US dollars;
  2. 1000 billion per year is needed to finance the 15th Sustainable Development Goal and a world without carbon.
  3. The public sector is not able to raise sufficient funds.
  4. The private sector needs to help the public one to preserve forests and ecosystems.

The sport of youth is far from having its goal of sustainable development. At most sport is the subject of an article (article 37) in the United Nations 2030 program.  To finance youth sport, especially in developing countries, the use of the private sector will be unavoidable.

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World Sports Alliance IGO - The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP). Reason 5.

The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP).

Reason 5: the necessary recourse to the private sector.



Why and how to raise funds for “Sport for Development and Peace” initiatives? I
understood the strategy when I worked on the funding processes for each of the
Sustainable Development Goals.

Today, let's take an example that has nothing to do with the sport of youth: the
protection of the forest. Let's leave aside why protect the forest, as it seems obvious
to us. Even if some heads of states of great powers consider that global warming is
a detail. Let's try to understand how to raise funds to achieve the goal of sustainable
development 15. Let's recall seven arguments (3 on today and the 4 on tomorrow).

  1. Each year, the World Bank raises US $ 10.3 billion to support climate change actions.
  2. An additional 28% is scheduled to mature in 2020 for $ 29 billion.
  3. Since 2011, the World Bank Group has raised $ 52 billion to fund 900 projects.

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World Sports Alliance - The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP). Reason 4

The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace
Initiatives (SDP). 

Reason 4: how much does it cost?

Financing sustainable development? But how much is it going to
cost?

The Council on Foreign Relations of the United Nations has
published a rating that makes you dizzy. Funding for the 17
Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 - Transforming the
World - UN program would cost between $ 90 and $ 120 trillion.
The graph above shows the distribution of the necessary
investments. $ 66 billion for the global safety net to eradicate
extreme poverty in all countries. From 5 to 7 trillion for water
infrastructure, agriculture, telecoms, power, transport,
buildings, industrial and forestry sectors. $ 50.2 billion for
the elimination of hunger. 37 billion for universal health coverage. $
37 billion for universal primary education and expanded access
to lower secondary education.

We would have to find 90 to 120 trillion dollars by 2030 to give
our children and grandchildren a planet in order. It's a safe bet
that the financing of youth sport does not weigh heavily in this
mountain of funding.

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Friday, April 13, 2018

World Sports Alliance International Governmental Organization - The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP): Reason 3:

The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace
Initiatives (SDP):

Reason 3: Helen Clarke, former PNUD Director.



On 13th July 2015, the third conference on Financing Sustainable
Development was launched in Addis Ababa. Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon, who had succeeded Kofi Annan, our inventor of the
"Sport for Development and Peace" sector, had to find an
agreement to finance the Sustainable Development Goals.

In the Ethiopian capital, the financial stake was major. Helen
Clark, the director of the UNDP, summarized it as follows:
"Addis Ababa is crucial because it is good to put a lot of words
on the papers, but all this will not work if we do not agree on a
how to finance everything, so to put gasoline in the engine of the
development of the poorest countries”. In Addis, not all countries
agree on the nature of fuel. Because not all countries have the
same engine.

And above all the necessary quantity of gasoline is gigantic.
Sport and its SDP sector may well be drowned in this ocean of
necessary finances.

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World Sports Alliance IGO - The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP), Reason 2


The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives
(SDP)


Reason 2: Kofi Annan, some regrets.


The Kofi Annan’s role was crucial to promote and develop the Sport for
development and peace sector. Let’s remember.

Kofi Annan. It is him who in July 2002 “convened a UN Inter-Agency Task
Force on Sport for Development and Peace to review activities involving
sport within the UN system”.

In 2017, fourteen years after creating the SDP sector, probably Kofi Annan
regretted the closure of the United Nations SDP office On 4th May 2017. This
is why I accepted to participate in a reflection on the creation of a collegiate
direction of the SDP sector. For a universal mission, one organization alone
cannot support this SDP direction. As I have recalled, on 5th October 2017
at the Lausanne seminar “Achieving the SDGs through sport, in the
framework of the governance of the SDP sector, one of the major challenges
of the SDP sector will be the financing of local SDP initiatives, particularly
in developing countries.

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Thursday, April 12, 2018

World Sports Alliance - The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP)



The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP)

Reason 1: Kofi Annan, SDP inventor.

On 23rd January 2018, Asa Saint Clair the treasurer of our
intergovernmental organization World Sports Alliance announced at the
World Economic Forum in Davos the launch of iGObit a crypto active to fund
SDP initiatives in the member states of our organization. In Davos, he met
Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations. The meeting
was appropriate. Kofi Annan played a vital role in promoting sport as a tool
for development and peace. Let’s remember.

Kofi Annan. It is him who combined the first sport with the Millennium
Development Goals. As said by the United Nations: “The Sport for
Development and Peace agenda gained momentum when in 2001, former
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan nominated former President of the Swiss
Confederation Adolf Ogi as his Special Adviser on Sport for Development
and Peace. In April 2008, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed
Wilfried Lemke, of Germany, as his Special Adviser”.

The right reasons to fund Sport for Development and Peace Initiatives (SDP)

Sunday, January 28, 2018

The World Sports Alliance, an Intergovernmental Organization (WSAIGO) is acting as the fiscal sponsor of World Sports Alliance (USA), a Nonprofit Corporation (WSAUSA) as they announce their entrance into the blockchain space with the launch of iGObit, the digital token made for global citizens (www.igobit.com).

With a target of USD $350 - $500 Million, this will not only be one of the largest crypto offerings to date but also marks a first of its kind offering whereby an Intergovernmental Organization (IGO) has entered the space of digital tokens. An IGO is considered an international personality comprised of member states under specific government treaties and is given rights and privileges within its member states.

Asa St. Clair meets Kofi Annan
iGObit is being developed upon the Stellar open source platform using Hyperledger blockchain technology, making iGobit a hybrid, distributed ledger offering. World Sports Alliance plans to use the funds to energize its entire ecosystem, with the ultimate goal of empowering youth sports programs worldwide. When asked about the offering, World Sports Alliance Treasurer, Mr. Asa Saint Clair, was quoted as saying, "We are pleased to announce our entrance into the crypto token space with the launch of iGObit. Our digital token is a unique offering in that we are using blockchain and encryption technology, while still complying with KYC laws, as any world government-affiliated entity would. By using the Stellar open source platform, we are combining the best of many worlds as a means to deploy our core mission of youth sports programs worldwide, as well as fulfill our secondary mission of supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It was so fitting that we launch this endeavor from the World Economic Forum at Davos, at a time when sustainability and blockchain seem to be the two most recurring themes at the WEF this year."
When asked why the WSA entered the blockchain technology space as a means to finance its mission, Mr. Saint Clair further stated, "The idea for the World Sports Alliance originated back as early as the year 2000, inside of the United Nations back when Mr. Kofi Annan was the secretary general. Even more fitting was that I had the privilege to meet Mr. Annan here at the WEF. The WSA vision originated as a means to empower socioeconomic mobility, on the Sport for Development and Peace platform. Many people do not realize just how much sports and finance go hand-in-hand. The Olympic Games comes every four years and plays an important role in stimulating local economies worldwide. With the launch of iGObit, we seek to mirror those efforts by launching youth sports programs that encourage young people to seek to better themselves, their families and communities. Using blockchain allows for distribution, equality and transparency which are values that are in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals."
Dr. Gilles Klein, Secretary-General of the World Sports Alliance IGO, met with the majority of education and sports ministers on the African continent at Rabat, Morocco, during the week of January 15th. At this gathering, Dr. Klein encouraged these countries, many of which are currently World Sports Alliance Member States, to embrace the Sports for Development and Peace platform, as well as support iGObit as a means to finance their own youth education and sports programs at a time when funding for many of these programs has been declining. Dr. Klein was quoted as saying, "The Sports for Development and Peace platform is at the heart of the World Sports Alliance. We see the vast budgets and economic impact that sports has around the world. With the launch of iGObit, we seek to bring sustainable development to the African continent, as well as the other territories that comprise our member states, through the use of youth sports, health and education programs. Many of these jurisdictions are resource-rich and cash poor, yet also have a dearth of talented young athletes. We see no reason that in the name of financial equality and justice that these jurisdictions should not be brought to the forefront of the world stage and we see our digital token offering as a means to do so."
H.E. Alain Lemieux, World Sports Alliance IGO President also added, "I am so happy to see the launch of iGObit as a way to empower the entire WSA ecosystem. When we first launched WSA back in 2007, the United Nations representatives told me that it would take 10 years to see the IGO come to fruition. We are now at the 10-year mark and we see the launch of iGObit as the catalyst that will move the effort forward, as we originally envisioned. The youth of this world are the future and with each use of our crypto token people can be reassured that they are making a contribution into these young people, as well as sustain life on the planet Earth."
World Sports Alliance Intergovernmental Organization was formed in 2007, as the result of a private-public multi-stakeholder partnership initiative under the auspices of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA). The mission of the organization is the advancement of socioeconomic mobility, health and education issues for the approximately 530 million people within WSA's 33 member states, using youth sports as a medium. WSA has contractual entitlements and government concessions on its balance sheet in excess of USD $100 billion dollars and is the fiscal sponsor of iGObit – the blockchain token designed for global citizens with financial equality in mind. World Sports Alliance operates on the Sport for Development and Peace platform and exists in furtherance of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Media Contact:
Anthony Tijero
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World Sports Alliance IGO
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Saturday, January 20, 2018

In Rabat, the Secretary General of the World Sports Alliance Intergovernmental Organisation, Dr. Gilles Klein, meets the delegations of the Member States

In Rabat - Morocco, Dr. Gilles Klein, the Secretary General of the World Sports AllianceIntergovernmental Organisation (WSAIGO) and the Director of Cabinet of the General Secretariat of the WSAIGO, Mrs. Sylvie Delpech, organized informal working sessions with representatives of the Member States of the Intergovernmental Organization who attended the first African school Sport Forum.


Thirty-eight delegations from African Countries were present on the 15th and 16th of January of 2018 in Rabat to participate at the first African Forum of School Sport. The Secretary General of the WSAIGO took advantage of this opportunity to meet with the delegations of the Member States of the WSAIGO Intergovernmental Organization on the sidelines of the formal sessions of the forum organized by the Kingdom of Morocco and the International School Sport Federation.

Thus, the Secretary General, Gilles Klein, and the Director of Cabinet of the General Secretariat, Sylvie Delpech, were able to organize informal working sessions with eleven delegations of Member States of the WSAIGO: Burkina Faso, Benin, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, Togo, Tunisia, Central African Republic and Rwanda. The delegations of each of these Countries were led by the Minister of Education or the Minister of Youth and Sports, their cabinet directors or directors of physical activity and sport, physical education or school sport.

The election of new presidents, the appointment of new ministers and new administrations meant that delegations, generally, did not have a full understanding of the purpose and benefits of their Countries’ membership within the WSAIGO, or know about the existence of youth education programs andtraining of managers and the negotiation of partnerships for the construction of sports infrastructures for youth.

The Secretary General and the Director of Cabinet therefore recalled the WSA’s history and the nature of its collaboration with the Member States. They discussed the 2008-2015 MDG period and the difficulty of concluding public-private partnerships with Countries under structural adjustment agreements with the Bretton Woods institutions. They presented the new financing paths of the SDG 2015 - 2030 period, more in line with the innovation economy.

They announced the upcoming Initial Token Offering (ITO), coinciding with the Davos World Economic Forum being held from the 23rd to 26th of January of 2018, of the IGObit, the official digital token of the WSAIGO, its affiliated entities, projects and initiatives that form theWSA Ecosystem made for the Global Citizens, to finance economic partnerships and local sports projects. Links to the www.igobit.com website were sent to the representatives of the participating Member States.

The delegations of the WSAIGO Member States showed lack of understanding of the cooperation and action to be taken between them and the WSAIGO Intergovernmental Organization over the previous years, but demonstrated their keen interest and even their great enthusiasm to the five (5) key proposals presented by Dr. Gilles Klein, related to a multilateral collaboration to be established to foster SDP initiatives in Africa.  All delegations wished to revive cooperation as soon as possible. Armed with their African experience on the ground, the Secretary General and the Director of Cabinet declared that they will not propose, to Africa, white elephants, i.e.: these complex but sterile administrative scaffolds. 

They will regularly inform the delegations of the participating Member States, as well as the thirty-eight African delegations present in Rabat, of the evolution of the IGObit fundraising and the possibility of sitting around a table to discuss concrete projectsadapted to the needs of the African youth. Finally, several heads of delegations expressed the wish to quickly start the process of becoming a Member State of the World Sports Alliance Intergovernmental Organization, these Countries include Gabon, Cameroun, Tanzania and Kenya just to mention a few.
  

As always, the meeting with the delegations of the WSA’s Member States presented opportunities for moments of exchange and fraternity.

At the first African School Sport Forum, Dr. Gilles Klein, Secretary General of the World sports Alliance Intergovernmental Organization(WSAIGO) invites Benin to collaborate on the development of a Sport for Development and Peace Index

In Rabat - Morocco, Dr. Gilles Klein, Secretary General of the WSAIGO proposes to Benin, a Member State of the WSAIGO Intergovernmental Organization, to collaborate, in partnership with the International School Sport Federation, on the development of a "Sport for Development and Peace" (SDP) index aimed at mobilizing States, businesses and organizations a an positive incentivizing tool to engage them in the financing SDP initiatives in financing SDP initiatives in Africa.


In his introductory speech at the conferenceof the first African School Sport Forum, Dr. Gilles Klein, referred to Michael Møller, the UN Director-General in Geneva. According to this senior UN official, "to change the World, we need to change the way the World does business, where sustainability is measured in a transparent way." This being said, however, we can note that, from the standpoint of sport, since 2003, sponsors have not sufficiently supported the SDP initiatives. Therefore in his speech to the Forum, the Secretary General of the WSAIGO Intergovernmental organization proposed the creation of a think-tank for the generation of a proposal for action.

The financial potential of sport is important. The sports industry generates $800 billion annually, or 1% of global GDP. The sporting events market is worth $80 billion a year, with strong growth. In a world in crisis, sport can become a formidable economic engine. So why is there so little money back on the ground?

In 1999, Kofi Annan was able to convince UN Member States to implement changes in favor of resilience to the planet. Governments have tried to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Sport was associated to this initiative.

But the world of industry, especially digital, has continued to function, as if everyone's responsibility was not engaged. Some industrial champions have even managed to make people believe that the Internet opened a second virtual planet whose resources would be unlimited.

The crisis of the financial sector following the collapse of Lehman Brothers raised doubts about the model of growth at all costs. The World began to rethink the business principles on which it persisted. Companies then further developed Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Environmental Social Governance (ESG) policies that can contribute to sustainable development.

Some States, companies or individuals resist. But most begin to realize that the resources on which our lives depend are in permanent and accelerated decline. The challenge of this resilience is to act today to prepare the lives of our children and our grandchildren.

In this context, the United Nations 2030 program is a universal campaign and is responsible for objectives that are acceptable to all, measurable through clear indicators. Do not hesitate to tie-in sports. How can this be done? UNGSII, sponsored by Michael Møller, has created a sustainability index for companies and governments based on the CSR and ESG policies they develop.

The Secretary General of the WSAIGO Intergovernmental organization, Dr. Gilles Klein, proposes to the thirty-eight delegations present in Rabat the creation of an SDP index to measure the effective engagement of all stakeholders in Africa. This index would be built with different types of organizations to measure the actual impact of each and, particularly, the level of investments. He proposed that a global conference be devoted to the evaluation of the SDP sector. It would present the annual results of companies, governments, NGOs and social movements. Africa cannot miss this Rendezvous with the future!

In this perspective, Dr. Klein addresses a proposal to the Minister of the Republic of Benin and the President of the University of Abomey Calavi to work collaboratively on the development of this SDP index and to discuss, with the African Union to set-up an African conference on the evaluation of sustainable development through sport.


At the end of the Forum, the Secretary General of the WSAIGO Intergovernmental organization met with the Beninese delegation. They exchanged on the development of the SDP index which is on track, since at the end of 2017, in Geneva, UNGSII accepted the principle of developing a SDP index favoring assessment of all stakeholders in sport. Within this process, Benin could become a leader for Africa.