Your Excellencies,

Dear Athletes,

Dear friends of sport,

Dear everyone,

It is well known that I am deeply preoccupied with questions of peace and reconciliation. And it is equally well known that I am very interested in sport.

I see sport as an important tool for achieving peace. Being here in Athens during the Olympics, I am sure we all realise that we are not the first to come to this conclusion. The whole idea behind the Olympic Games was that peaceful competition between nations and individuals from all over the world leads to better understanding between people. The peoples of ancient times used to abide by an “Olympic truce”.

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The basic values of sport have clear relevance for work on peace and conflict resolution. At its best, sport contributes to learning and training in democratic forms of interaction, and give people a sense of their own worth. Sports learn children and adults to play in a team to achieve common goals. The participants must be guided by the principle of fair play and respect for one’s opponents. Sport can also teach people to be good winners and good losers.

These values are of great relevance to conflict situations.

Sport can through these values create a basis for greater trust and respect between people. If there is one thing that I have learned from work on regional conflicts, it is the importance of mutual trust between the parties. If that is no longer there, there is no point.

Voluntary sports activities can create a social network at the local level.

In countries and areas affected by conflicts, strengthening of civil society is an important precondition for positive social development. The emphasis on sport is an important example of bottom-up civil society building. Civil society that is alive and well is of major importance for the creation of safe and satisfactory living conditions for the population. Strengthening of voluntary sports is an important element of infrastructure development in a society.

There is also an important learning aspect associated with voluntary sport. Through participation in voluntary work, one develops social competence. The possibility of taking part in local organization work provides people with good practice in local democracy.

However, certain requirements must be fulfilled if sport is to function fully as a positive force in relation to conflict situations. It is of great importance that there be a continuous focus on the intrinsic value of sport and on safeguarding the platform of values on which sport is based.

It is particularly important to safeguard the principle of sport for all. Participation in sport regardless of ethnic, cultural and social ties is of major importance. When different groups are brought together through sports activities, it is possible to create greater trust and respect between people who have previously lived in a state of mutual mistrust.

In work on peace and conflict resolution, a focus on sport may be relevant in different contexts and have different functions. Firstly, such a focus may be included as an element of general preventive work. Another possibility is involvement in areas already affected by conflict, where sport plays a part in resolving the conflicts.

Development of local sport structures can function as a confidence-building factor in a society.

It is however important to have realistic expectations regarding what can be achieved through sport. Sport isn’t a magic formula that can solve major social problems.

Let me say some words of Norway’s contribution to “Sport and Peace”

Last year we channelled more than 3 million dollars to concrete sport and development projects in developing countries. Our partners included the Norwegian Sports Association, the Norwegian Olympic Committee, the Norwegian Football Association, Right to Play and several Norwegian NGOs. Most of the funds were allocated to projects involving sport as a means to peace and reconciliation. A concrete example is the project “Football for peace” that the organisation “Right to Play” has established in Palestinian refugee camps in Jericho and Ramallah. The children in the camps develop co-operation skills and respect for others through sport. Norway has contributed funds to the project, and we are well satisfied by this as well as of the other project by “Right to Play” we have supported. In fact, my government has just allocated nearly 2 hundred thousand dollars to “Right to Play”, which brings the allocation up to more than a million dollars this year.

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I believe that it is important to focus on the intrinsic value of voluntary sport. It is this platform of values that makes sport suited to play a role in relation to work peace and conflict resolution. It is therefore of decisive importance that sport maintains its legitimacy through a continued focus on its fundamental values of fitness, fun, fellowship and fair play. One thing is certain: if we are to be able to use sport in the cause of peace and conflict resolution, the right values must be in place. Sport and peace-building are all about confidence, confidence in a common set of rules, confidence that the competition will be fair, confidence that everyone has a chance of winning.

I am strongly preoccupied with sport. Indeed – some people would call me a sports fanatic. I take it as a compliment. I am also preoccupied with international politics and development work. The fight to combat poverty and persecution is a matter very close to my heart. I therefore thank you, Mr. Koss, for taking the initiative to hold this conference and for inviting me.

As a follow-up to this Roundtable Forum it has been proposed to establish an international Working group on sport for development and peace. I am happy to announce that Norway will support this process. I am personally willing to take an active part in this. You can be assured that you can count on Norway – and myself - in the process leading up to the first meeting of the Working Group.

Thank you.