Sorie Kamara

The Ministry of Sport and the National Sport Council of Sierra Leone (NSC) will today Thursday 6th April 2017, join the entire world to celebrate the 4th Edition of the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP).
The International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) was declared by the United Nations Assembly in 2013. Since then, it has been an annual festival of the power of sport to drive social change, community development and to foster peace.
The Chairman of the Committee for the celebration, Sorie Kamara, said this is the very first time Sierra Leone will join the world to celebrate the day.
According to him, IDSDP is celebrated because sport can be used as a key factor to contribute towards the United Nations’ objectives for development and peace across the world.
Kamara noted that the adoption of this Day indicates the increasing acknowledgment by the United Nations of the positive effect that sport can have on the advancement of human rights, and social and economic development.
The Chairman further said sport is an exceptional tool for supporting self-respect and the absolute rights of every human being. Adding, “It is an influential tool for positive social change.”
“This year, we will celebrate the day in a low-key way with some sporting activities in beach volleyball, track and field athletics and a football match because this is the first time we will involve in the celebration and we didn’t have funding to involve all sporting disciplines”.
For the beach volleyball and track and field athletics events, they’ve divided staff of Ministry of Sports and the National Sport Council into 4 groups. Group members will play the beach volleyball matches against each other in the morning and compete in the athletics events in the afternoon.
In the football match, Staff of Ministry of Sport and National Sport Council combine will play against Ministry of Youth later in the evening.
Elopement William Lemke, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary General on Sport for Development for Peace, said, “Sport has the capacity to empower individuals and bring one’s moral values to the forefront; it can play a strategic role in transferring life skills and communicating useful, encouraging messages on important issues, thus driving social change.”
The International Olympic Committee has as well been supportive of this initiative, as it values its potential to recognise sports organisations’ role in and contribution to social change and human development.
By Bernard Turay
Thursday April 06, 2017.