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21 September 2005
HIGHLIGHTS OF PRESS CONFERENCE BY UN SPECIAL ADVISOR ON SPORT FOR DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE AND SPOKESPERSON FOR INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF SPORT AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION (BILINGUAL)
By United Nations Office at Geneva
Adolf Ogi, Special Adviser to the United Nations
Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace and
Under-Secretary-General, and Roger Federer, the world’s top-ranked
tennis player and Spokesperson for the International Year of Sport and
Physical Education 2005, today gave a joint press conference at the
United Nations Office at Geneva on the work carried out so far under
the International Year of Sport and Physical Education 2005.
Adolf Ogi, Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace,
said the International Year of Sport and Physical Education was now in
full swing. The second half of the year was beginning, and it was time
to review the achievements so far. He wished to thank Roger Federer,
the Spokesman of the Year, for being present for the review, and said
he was to be congratulated for the results of the Year as well as for
his impressive victory at the US Open. Roger Federer had been present
at the UN Headquarters in New York with the Secretary-General for the
launch of the Year on 5 November 2004. Since that date, hard work had
been done to mobilise Governments, politicians, the sports industry,
NGOs, civil society and others. The objective of the Year was clear -
sport could help to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. It was a
universal language that taught universal values and necessary lessons
for life, and its power in this respect should be recognised.
Mr. Ogi said he was very proud of the achievements so far this year.
Governments were increasingly recognising sport as a means to promote
health, education, development and peace. National Committees for the
Year had been set up in many countries. Many sports projects had been
started in developing countries, run by the United Nations, NGOs and
Governments, as well as sports organizations. The Swiss Sports
Development Project had already run over 40 projects alone. Conferences
on sport and peace in Russia, sport and women’s leadership in the
United States, and other conferences would be held.
The tsunami had been a terrible disaster, with over 250,000 people
killed, but the sports world had mobilised to help the survivors, with
money collected thanks to sports events, and athletes travelling to the
area and bringing survivors hope and joy. A roundtable had been
organized at the United Nations after the tsunami which included over
20 sports federations, and they had all discussed how sport could help
in the case of such disastrous events and had agreed to work more
closely and to be better prepared for the future.
Last week in New York, at the World Summit, a document on the state of
the world had been agreed upon. Besides all the important issues
contained therein, paragraph 145 said that sport played an important
role for world development and peace, showing that the goal of the Year
was being achieved. A Sport and Development Plan of Action, to be
discussed in the General Assembly, was also a feature of the paragraph,
and this would contribute to achieving the Millennium Development Goals
better and faster, and would ensure that a lasting legacy of the Year
would be left behind. Everybody should understand that sport was an
important instrument for a better world. Roger Federer was helping to
raise the profile of development through sport, and was a perfect
example for the positive values and advantages of sport, the best
school of life. There could be no one better in this respect than Roger
Federer.
Roger Federer, Spokesman for the International year of Sport and Physical Education and the world’s top-ranked tennis player,
said it was a great honour to be the Spokesman for the Year, and he
hoped he would be able to help further. He had been following the
developments of the Year closely. It had been a very busy year for him
personally, and he was very happy to see what was happening. Sport had
always been the most important thing in his life, and he had been able
to meet many people, including children, and inspire them. He would
always be there when needed, despite his busy schedule. He had gone
South Africa to visit his own Foundation in Port Elizabeth, which
contributed towards providing education and food to poor children, and
he hoped to build that up in the future.
M. Roger Federer a affirmé que c'était un grand honneur pour lui
d'être ici avec M. Ogi pour aider au développement du sport et de
l'éducation physique. Il a fait part du plaisir qu'il éprouve à
partager avec d'autres personnes ce qu'il a vécu dans sa carrière en
tant que sportif. Il a indiqué qu'au cours de sa carrière, il a pu
rencontrer beaucoup de gens, surtout des jeunes à qui il a pu donner
des conseils. M. Federer a souligné qu'il ne voit toujours que le côté
positif des choses, qu'il gagne ou qu'il perde. Si je perds, j'ai plus
de temps pour ma famille et si je gagne, alors tout va bien, a-t-il
dit. Il a en outre indiqué avoir toujours beaucoup de respect pour ses
adversaires. Le champion mondial a rappelé qu'il avait créé une
fondation en Afrique du Sud pour aider à l'éducation des jeunes et leur
offrir des repas.
In response to a question on whether he would contemplate a trip to the
Middle East to help Iraqi or Palestinian children or whether he would
wait for peace, and whether he was ready for the Davis Cup, Mr. Federer
said he was currently trying to focus on South Africa, as his mother
was from there. He was working on the extent of his commitment, and as
he was still very young, he had time on his side in that respect, as he
could continue to extend his commitment in the future. He could always
consider a trip to the areas mentioned, and he liked the Arab World.
Regarding the Davis Cup, he said yes he was ready.
On a question as to what he was doing over the next year and whether he
had projects elsewhere in Africa, Mr. Federer said that he only had
projects in South Africa. What he would like in the future would be for
the Year to fit him in wherever he could help, and then he would try
and fit it into his schedule. He would be looking into what was
possible in the next year and would go from there.
Un correspondant lui ayant demandé en quoi consistait le travail
de sa fondation, M. Federer a expliqué que les personnes associées à sa
fondation à Port Elizabeth, à savoir l'organisation partenaire locale
IMBEWU, s'occupent notamment du sida et de bien d'autres choses. M.
Federer a précisé qu'en ce qui le concerne, il s'occupe plus
spécifiquement d'éducation, l'action dans ce domaine se concentrant en
particulier sur la promotion de la scolarisation des enfants des rues.
On a question regarding his contact with IMG, a sports management and
marketing agency, and whether this would have impact on his
philanthropic activities, Mr. Federer said this contact had just taken
place, and the owner of IMG was very much into charity, especially in
Africa and South Africa, and therefore Mr. Federer intended to increase
his contribution, and it was clear that things would change. Maybe a
tennis tournament would be arranged in Africa, maybe in the South, and
things would be examined further in the years to come.
Une correspondante lui ayant demandé si cela faisait longtemps
qu'il avait envie de soutenir des œuvres caritatives, M. Federer a
indiqué que cela faisait environ deux ou trois ans que cette idée lui
était venue. Certains athlètes, notamment André Agassi, se sont déjà
beaucoup investis dans ce domaine, a-t-il fait observer. Il a précisé
que sa mère étant sud-africaine, il connaît bien l'Afrique du Sud. Il a
indiqué qu'il voulait faire quelque chose assez tôt, mais pas trop tôt
non plus. «Alors ça a commencé gentiment et maintenant l'ONU m'offre
une autre possibilité de faire des bonnes choses pour une bonne cause»,
a déclaré M. Federer. Il a souligné qu'il s'efforçait de veiller à ne
pas investir toute son énergie uniquement dans le tennis, les
entraînements et les médias. «J'essaie aussi de faire davantage pour
l'image de la Suisse, pour aider, car quelquefois, avec peu de temps -
moi - je peux vraiment faire beaucoup de choses - je crois que je n'en
suis même pas conscient moi-même».
On a question on how Mr. Federer, a player in a sport seen as elitist,
thought that tennis could be popularised in more countries, in
particular in Africa, and what could be done to change tennis from
being seen as an elitist game, Mr. Federer said he did not agree with
this perception. Tennis was played all around the world, which gave him
personally a great opportunity to visit everywhere, including Africa.
However, he wished that players would unite further, rather than doing
individual things. After the tsunami he had organised an exhibition
match with the top 10 players in order to raise some money. This had
taken place and he had won the tournament, and it had been a great
success, and had given him great hope for the future of tennis.
Answering a question on how much was raised from this event and whether
he contemplated doing anything for Katrina and the poor of New Orleans,
Mr. Federer said he was not one hundred percent sure, but he thought
about $ 50,000. With regards to Katrina, he had not had time yet to
plan anything, as it had taken place just before the US Open, but he
was ready to invest time and money to help, as it was definitely a
disaster.
Responding to a question on whether he and Mr. Ogi could discuss the
use of sport in the development of peace, Mr. Federer said that Mr. Ogi
has visited many places to try and make people play football and be
happy, and to show that sports could bring peace.
Mr. Ogi said that in his experience, there was a potential for the use
of sport in the development of peace. The cricket team from India last
year had gone to play in Pakistan, with about 10,000 Indian supporters.
In January this year, Pakistan's team had gone to India, also with
about 10,000 supporters. Three years ago, the two countries had
threatened to go to war. When the Pakistani team went to India,
President Musharraf also went to India, and met the Prime Minister of
India, and he had said that cricket diplomacy worked well - and the
relationship between the two countries was much better now. In 1971,
the first diplomatic contact between the United States and China had
been through ping-pong. Sport could test what was possible for
politicians, and the power of sport should be better recognised by
society. At the Olympic Village in Athens, the representatives of over
200 countries had lived together in peace and freedom, due to the
various rules. If rules were respected, then there would not be so many
conflicts. It was time to create a better world, and there was a need
for a new instrument, which would not change the world today but could
help to create a better world over the next 30 years. Criticism should
not continue, rather work should continue to make a better world for
the next generations.
On a question on what Mr. Federer thought with regards to the
importance of sports and exercise in terms of keeping down obesity and
improving the health and well-being of ordinary people, Mr. Federer
said that sports gave a great feeling. When one was doing sports, one
thought about completely different things than when just sitting in a
chair. It was very important for people to do sports, and to stay
healthy. There was a small chance of injury, but then anything could
happen any time, even walking down the street. Sports were very
important for him, not just to stay fit but also to think.
Responding to a question on what kind of experience he could bring to
children living in Africa on under $ 1 a day and who could not play
tennis, Mr. Federer said that he did not go there to teach tennis, but
to teach what sport had given him, such as the opportunity to learn
about other cultures and to gain happiness. He was trying to give out
the message to remind people what sports could do in the field of
happiness. He had his own career, and when that was over he would give
more time, and would be able to touch more people. At the moment he
could only contribute to a certain extent, but the people in the
organization of the Year were trying to do more.
On a question as to whether there was an intent to make the Year a
permanent institution and for it to go on after the end of next year,
Mr. Ogi said the year would go on, and the first bridge had been built.
A platform had been offered to all 191 Member States, and it should not
come to an end. Roger Federer would continue as Spokesman. There was a
need to climb up one step after another. The goal to create a better
world could be achieved, as this was in the interest of all, and Roger
Federer was the best in this respect.
Responding to a question on whether there would be a continuing
structure for this effort and whether the name of the Year would be
changed to make it sound more like permanent body, Mr. Ogi said the
Year’s structure would end, but there was an Office in Geneva and
another in New York, and the idea would go on, as at the United
Nations, it was known that if one wanted to touch the young
generations, sport had to be included in all activities, and so the
organization set up for the Year would go on and be more successful in
the future.
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