Egypt celebrates International Sports Day with a football match among diplomats

CAIRO – 23 April 2017: In celebration of the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) and the International Francophonie Day, Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, along with representatives of the United Nations (UN) and embassies of French-speaking countries held a sports day and a friendly football match in Cairo on Saturday.

The Sports Day, organized under the auspices of Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry at Al Jazeera Youth Center in Cairo, was attended by a number of Foreign Ministry officials, diplomats and UN staff members, according to a UN statement.

Sport is "an engine for peace and development because it provides a platform for rapprochement among people, especially at the youth level,” said Hesham Badr , Assistant Foreign Minister for Multilateral Relations and International Security in his opening speech. Sport is one of the main pillars of peace and strengthening ties among peoples, which is why the occasion was celebrated in the form of a friendly football match, Badr stated.

Richard Dictus, the Executive Coordinator of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) program, stressed that sport "has great potential to mobilize efforts and can promote and harness positive values, empowerment, inspiration and unity,” adding that sports play an important role in achieving the UN’s 17 goals of sustainable development.
The UN declared April 6 as the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace in 2013, to signify the positive influence of sport in the advancement of human rights, as well as social and economic development.

The International Francophonie Day on March 20 celebrates the French language and Francophone culture.