Doha: Permanent Representative of Qatar to the United Nations, H E Ambassador Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani, has said that Qatar is proud to host the 2022 World Cup for the first time in the Middle East and the Arab world.
Qatar considers the World Cup an opportunity for Qatar and the region to stimulate social development and build a better future for next generations, H E added.
The Ambassador was speaking at a high-level meeting on the prevention of violent extremism through sports.
Within the framework of the United Nations Global Program on the Security of Major Sporting Events, and Promotion of Sport and its Values as a tool to prevent violent extremism, the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism UNOCT organised a High-Level Meeting on the Prevention of Violent Extremism through Sports, in partnership with the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), the UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), and the International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS).
Qatar's Permanent Representative added that it is more important than ever to support sports and physical activities, as a sport should be included in the recovery plans after the (COVID-19) pandemic and within the national strategies for sustainable development because it is an essential factor in mitigating the impact of the pandemic on health and people and has an important impact in the restoration of normal life activities.
The event preceded the launch of a series of initiatives which include, inter alia, the development of a guide for policy makers, a training handbook, a global campaign and a grant-awarding mechanism for local civil society organisations (CSOs) working on sports-based prevention of violent extremism (PVE).
The virtual high-level meeting featured discussions between senior United Nations Officials, Member States and international organisations representatives, policy makers, and sports personalities committed to the fight against violent extremism.
The President of the International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) and founder of “Save the Dream” programme, Mohammed bin Hanzab, said sport positively affects the lives of millions of people every day, and major sporting events and sports, in general, contain unique tools that stimulate positive change.
The event was followed by a technical level International Expert Group Meeting where representatives from governments, international and regional organisations, sport bodies, academia and CSOs shared experiences and discussed actionable good practices of sports-based interventions aimed at preventing and countering violent extremism that can inspire the inclusion and further acknowledgement of sports within national and regional action (PCVE) action plans.