International Day of Sport for Development and Peace 2023: Scoring for People and the Planet
6 April 2023
Remarks by Maurizio Massari, Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations
Excellences, colleagues. Good Morning.
Thank you for organizing today’s meeting. We strongly believe sport, in its many forms, is an incredible tool to promote peace, dialogue, human rights and social inclusion.
For these reasons Italy fully includes sport in its public polices both at the national level and in its development cooperation initiatives and cooperates effectively with the United Nations Development System, the International Olympic Committee, (the International Paralympic Committee) and the sporting community.
Let me share two concrete examples of our commitment. Italy partnered with UN DESA and CSOs to finance and implement a project on the social inclusion of children and youths with autism through sports in certain central American and Caribbean countries (Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Panama). The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Development cooperation also signed an agreement with the Italian Footballers’ Association, that allowed to launch the ”Youth-Led Football Program”, directed towards young Jordanians and young refugees living in Jordan, to promote a culture of peace and social cohesion. Such project has also been replicated in different forms in Uganda.
You can therefore count on our support for human development initiatives through sport, also thanks to the activities of different stakeholders and Civil Society Organizations.
I am particularly proud to introduce Mr. Javier Zanetti, Inter Campus Ambassador, Vice President of Inter and among the most popular former footballers. Maybe you do not know that he was the most decorated Inter player ever.
Since 1997 Intercampus has been organizing long-term social and cooperation projects in various countries around the world. They are present in Africa, Middle East, Balkans, Europe, Latin America, Central America, East Asia.
As Italian, I am very proud of their social commitment and I think the fact that many who were involved in their projects as children have later decided to continue working with Intercampus is very indicative of the value of this work.
Mr Zanetti will be in conversation with Ms Tabitha Lipkin, journalist and TV personality who was formerly a reporter with Fox Sports San Diego, and national news host at NBC Lx in the US. Without any further ado, let’s welcome with a warm applause Javier Zanetti.
