10th Global Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC)
Cascais, 25-27 November 2024
ENGSO/ENGSO Youth was present at the 10th United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) Global Forum, held from 25 to 27 November in Cascais, Portugal. The event featured a panel on the role of sport in promoting peace and inclusivity and served as a platform to connect, and further discuss the cooperation between ENGSO/ENGSO Youth and UNAOC in light of the initiative “Sport for One Humanity Campaign”.
Earlier this year, ENGSO/ENGSO Youth signed a strategic partnership with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) in light of the Sport for One Humanity initiative, a campaign created by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), a leading platform to advance understanding, cooperation and dialogue while promoting the values and benefits of diversity.
Sport for “#OneHumanity” provides an inclusive platform to key sport actors, athletes, advocates, and stakeholders to help promote social inclusion and diversity by raising awareness for the power of sport, building capacity through education, and delivering real-world impact through initiatives and programs that address diversity in sport.
The event served as a fruitful platform to connect with our counterparts from the UNAOC Sport for One Humanity team and discuss further possibilities for cooperation.
In a joint effort to advance the hashtag#OneHumanity campaign, ENGSO/ENGSO Youth and UNAOC are collaborating to advocate for solidarity, compassion, and unity in sports. Recognising that sports have the unique ability to transcend barriers and bring people together, both organisations are committed to harnessing this potential to promote social inclusion, intercultural dialogue, and peace-building efforts worldwide.
The UNAOC Global Forum addressed crucial topics such as gender equality, social inclusion, the right to education, the promotion of peace and particularly, a long-standing mission of ENGSO/ENGSO Youth: how sports practice can serve as an effective means to promote peace, tolerance and solidarity, and to integrate people with disabilities and those in vulnerable situations.
The event also featured a thematic panel on “Harnessing the Unifying Power of Sports to Promote Peace and Inclusivity: Sports Diplomacy as a Bridge-builder”, where the speakers discussed how sports diplomacy can continue to serve as a bridge-builder, encouraging further collaboration among governments, civil society, and the private sector to harness the unifying power of sport for a more inclusive, peaceful world. The recording of this thematic panel is available here.
The main outcome of the event was the adoption of the Cascais Declaration, which recognises the contribution of sports diplomacy as a tool for promoting dialogue.
The United Nations Alliance of Civilization (UNAOC) was established in 2005, at the initiative of the Governments of Spain and Turkey, under the auspices of the United Nations. The Alliance of Civilizations aims to improve understanding and cooperative relations among nations and peoples across cultures and religions. It also helps to counter the forces that fuel polarization and extremism.